Arranged
by JAMZD
Summary: Max and Fang are in an arranged marriage and Max is full on against it! What will happen when the wedding gets bumped down by 5 years and Max has of freedom left? Full summary inside!
1. Chapter 1: Grand Escape

**Arranged**

**Now I can suspect that most of you people reading are familiar with my style of writing, so I guess this might be a shocker of a fanfic for you! Anyways, down there is my full summary!**

**SUMMARY:**

Max's family, the Rides, owns a nationally known company and so does Fang's family, the Carters; they are also well known names in the underworld. The Ride family and the Carter family are sworn enemies in both the business world and the underworld; the only thing keeping the two families from ultimately destroying each other is the arranged marriage that was agreed upon 16 years ago on the night of Max's birth when Fang was only about 3 years old. Originally, the marriage was set to happen one month after Max turned 22, but now due to their families dropping rates, the Ride and the Carter family must be united by the third full moon after Fang has turned 20 or all hell will break loose. Fang and Max both know their duties, but with Max being so resistant to Fang, will they be able to carry out their purposes and unite their two families?

**So yeah, that was the full summary! And now, before the chapter starts, here is the legal crap!**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Maximum Ride or any of its characters.**

**CLAIMER: I do own the plot and self made characters.**

**Chapter 1**

"Young Mistress, it is your first day of school at "Willow Lark Academy", please wake up." My old and kind maid, Nina, says politely.

"Alright, Nina, please prepare my uniform and ask the kitchen to make me the usual." I say with a sigh as I began to unbury my head in the mountain of pillows, and judging by Nina's "tsks" my long mane of dark brown hair is in a tangled mess.

"Yes, Young Mistress. I will also send up Nudge to help you prepare for school." Nina says with an old and tired smile as she shuffles her weathered feet out the mahogany door. As soon as she shuts my door I scramble out of bed and get my duffle bag out from under my bed, getting ready to make my grand escape.

Now you are all probably wondering, "Max what the hell is wrong with you?", because really, why would any person in their right mind want to escape from a life of luxury? Well at the moment, I'm not in my right mind, in fact, I'm freaking furious! I mean, I always knew that I'm technically living like a bird in a cage, being given my freedom and whatever I want, but always knowing that one day it will all be taken away from me; I get and accept it. But I'm supposed to have this freedom for at least 6 more years, not 1; that was the plan that had been drilled into my head for my whole 16 years of life! The worst part of it all is that I have to give my freedom to the arrogant, bull-headed, asshole, Fang Carter.

"Girl, just what is the hell do you think you are doing?" Nudge asks me just as I was swinging my leg over the balcony. Since Nudge and I are the same age we are actually close friends and so she no longer bothers to address me with all that "Young Mistress" crap.

"You know as well as I do what in the hell I'm doing. See you in a few years!" I say to Nudge with a crazy grin as I swing my other leg over and drop down onto the tarp that I had set up inconspicuously under my balcony the night before. I quickly slide off and begin to sprint towards my motorcycle at the edge of the property.

I was almost there when one of my families bodyguards showed up and hoisted me off my feet, swinging me over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

"Ari, put me down this instant." I commanded with my arms stubbornly crossed.

"Max, you know very damn well that when your dad gives me an order that I can't go against it if I value my life." Ari says to me bleakly. Ari, like Nudge, had dropped all the polite crap and is like and older brother to me; Ari is about 2 years older than me and is my personal bodyguard.

"Well if you value your manliness downstairs then you are going to let me escape." I say devilishly. Ari stops for a moment and then continues.

"Max, you and I both know that your father can do much worse to me." Ari says with a chuckle at my weak attempt to threaten him. Ari continues to carry me like a sack of potatoes to the front door of the main house where awaits a ticked off Nudge and a worried Nina, Nudge's foot tapping a mile a minute.

"Thanks again, Ari." Nudge says as Ari puts me down in front of Nudge who almost immediately begins to drag me up the stairs to get ready for school. Ari nods and goes back to the dining room to finish his breakfast.

I am completely silent as Nudge changes me from Max the defiant school gang leader to Max the company heiress that is secretly Max the defiant school gang leader.

"You know, Max, it won't be so bad. I mean, I am pretty sure you will still be able to meet up with J.J., Suzan, Dylan, and the others on weekends and after school."

"It won't be the same. Besides, why do I have to go to this stupid rich kid academy all of a sudden anyways?" I ask, finally giving up on my silence.

"Your mom says it is so that you are prepared for the future and so that you get to know the heirs and heiresses of companies you will associate with in the future. I also just think your dad was sick of you going against him and starting your own gang when the family already has a large and successful one." Nudge says with about only 2 breaths, but thats the legendary motormouthed Nudge for you.

"Well excuse me for taking charge of my life and using my limited freedom to the fullest." I scoff as I think about my gang, the Scarlet Winds. It had originally started out as a small group with just me and my childhood friends that didn't care about my familial background, J.J., Suzan, Dylan, and Zach.

I winced a bit while thinking about Zach, he was the closest to me out of the others and we were basically inseparable up until 2 years ago when his family moved across town without a word to any of us and joined the Carter family gang, The Descendants. After that, Scarlet Wind wasn't the same, and I wasn't really either; it was like a part of me had gotten colder. Rumor has it, that Zach became the Carter sub gang\Fang's gang, The Midnight Howls, third in command and was closely trusted by the leader, Fang, and his cousin who is second in command, Iggy. Around the others, I pretended that I couldn't care less, but realistically, it was like a hole had been ripped through my heart.

"Alright, done!" Nudge says triumphantly as she looks me over one more time. My hair was put in a fashionably messy side french braid and I had very little make-up on; only enough to highlight my high cheekbones and brighten my chocolate brown eyes as well as make my already full lips look plump. Nudge had also managed to get me into the school uniform while I was zoning out.

"Looks great, Nudge. But is there anyway that I can avoid wearing a mini skirt?" I ask, looking at the minuscule piece of fabric that was apparently supposed to be a skirt.

"For god sakes Max, you're a 16 year old girl with a rockin' body, not to mention a rich heiress and a gang leader!" Nudge exclaims, throwing her hands up.

"So? How am I going to kick-ass with this mini skirt on?" I ask with a scowl.

"Max, for the last time, you are going to this academy also for a fresh start. I'm pretty sure that if you kicked anyone's ass, your father would have you locked up in a foam room! Now get your skinny white ass downstairs and eat or you're going to make us both late!" Nudge exclaims, basically going ape shit on me. My eyes widen a bit and I try not to laugh as I leave the room to go eat my breakfast. Forgot to mention, but Nudge is going to go to the academy with me as well, it was one of my conditions.

Downstairs in the dining room I get welcomed by the amazing scent of melted chocolate over pancakes and fresh strawberries. Not the healthiest choice, but it tasted great! Sadly, I didn't get to enjoy it though and had to instead scarf it down and bolt out the door.

"Max what do you think you are doing?" Ari asks me, unimpressed by the scene of me attempting to get on my bike without having the butt shown to the world.

"Getting ready to ride to school," I say, still struggling to hoist myself onto the bike.

"Hell no…Get in the car, now." Ari says, pointing to the chauffeured car where Nudge was waiting.

"Fine, college boy…" I sigh, giving up on climbing onto my motorcycle. As I walk to the car I grab Ari's shirt and untuck it.

"Max, it is uniform for me to wear this shirt this way on campus."

"Whatever, just hurry up." I say as Ari hastily tucks his uniform shirt back in. He will be in his first year of college at the academy.

The driver began to drive to the school, and as we near the gates I think to myself, "Here comes the start of hell."

**So there was the first chapter, what did you think, worth a shot? Also, I will be updating LWA soon... I am just currently grounded and unable to reach my LWA files on my computer and am actually writing this from my iPad. Anyways, REVIEW and keep reading as well as check out my other fanfics! **

**-JAMZD  
><strong>


	2. Chapter 2: MrCarter to you!

**Arranged**

**I loved the reviews I got from the previous chapters, and by much demand, here is the next chapter!**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Maximum Ride or any of its characters.**

**CLAIMER: I do own the plot and self made characters.**

"Yo! Fang, get your emo ass out of bed and ready for work!" My rude butler, who is incidentally my best friend, Iggy, yelled ever so politely in my ear, startling me out of my...pleasure-filled dream.

"Damn it, Iggy! Why do I have to go work at this academy anyways?" I snarled. Since I was home schooled, I learned things much faster, and for some stupid reason, my father recently forced me to get a teacher's license and got me a job at "Willow Lark Academy" where I would have the ahem, "pleasure" of being a homeroom teacher for a bunch of snot nosed, 16 year old, over pampered, idiots.

"Don't ask me, nimrod! Now get up or you are going to be late for the opening ceremony!" Iggy exclaimed, ripping the sheets off of me and literally kicking me off the 4-poster bed.

"So disrespectful to a guy that can get you fired." I mumbled. Just to clarify, since you might be wondering why he was not calling me "Young Master" or any of that other shit, well that is simply because he is not only my best friend but also practically my brother as well as my second in command in my family sub gang, The Midnight Howls.

"Aw, Fangy, you know you would miss me too much." Iggy said with a wink. "Now hurry up and get dressed before Zach arrives for his ride to the academy.

"Yeah, yeah... Hey wait, aren't you going to be in college over at the academy?"

"Yeah, I am, and according to attendance records, Zach is going to be in your class." Iggy said, throwing clothes at me to change into.

"Great, I get to teach the brat." I say, rolling my eyes, I was calling Zach a brat with good intentions though. Zach is like a younger brother to me, even if he used to be a Scarlet Winder.

"Ha, well at least he will make the year interesting." Iggy chuckles, "Now hurry up!"

I nod my head and continue getting dressed. A few minutes later Iggy and I are charging down the stairs to meet Zach at the door.

"Yo Fang, ready to teach at the academy," Zach asks with a stupid grin once we open the door. "I hear you're going to be my teacher this year!"

"Yeah…and that's Mr. Carter to you." I say with an unimpressed look once we begin walking down the path to the awaiting car.

"Great, he is going be full of himself now." Iggy says, rolling his eyes.

Well who knows, maybe it would be okay for me to be full of myself for awhile. I mean, I am being married off to some 16 year old in about a year and a half, after I have just turned 20 years old. I mean, I have met her before, but that was when she was a sniffling 3 year old girl who had skinned her knee while chasing after her 5 year old body guard; of course I myself was 6 years old, but I was already the cool and reserved guy I am today. She was also pretty ugly...but then again, people can change. But she is the Ride heiress, so it is better to expect an ugly troll like girl.

"Yo, Mr. Cool and Reserved, you're thinking out loud again." Iggy says, flicking my head, causing my mop of black hair to swish out in a wave. I was about to begin arguing with my player friend when I looked over and noticed that Zach had a grave look on his face as he sat there silently. He had the same expression he would always get whenever we spoke of the Ride family, specifically of the forced fiancée whose name I do not even care to acknowledge.

"You know, Fang old buddy of mine, I think you need a hair cut." Iggy says with a stupid grin as he picks up a chunk of my straight hair. I give him a glare and he drops the hair with a cowardly "eep".

"Why must the Ride family be discussed on a day that is supposed to be good and carefree?" Zach asks in a monotone.

"We were not discussing them young one, Fang was just thinking aloud." Iggy says, going all lecturing professor on us.

"Excuse me Young Masters, but we have arrived at the academy." The driver says politely through the tinted glass.

"Great, thank you Terrance." Iggy says as we start to climb out the car doors.

Once we are outside and in the sun we are met by a series of gasps and shocked faces as well as long stares. But really, who couldn't stare at us? Iggy, the intelligent looking yet perverted playboy with a mane of shining blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes; Zach, the all around good guy with a hidden darkness behind his curly auburn hair that brushes his eerily maple coloured eyes; and of course, me. Fang, the tall, dark, and mysterious heir who is also a gang leader as well as a 19 year old college graduate that hides his obsidian, gold flecked eyes behind a mane of straight black hair.

"Fang, if you are done fantasizing about yourself, then can we get back to reality?" Iggy asks, as he nudges me ever so gently in the ribs.

"Whoa, what, who, where…chicken?" I ask, snapping out of my daze.

"Whatever dreamer boy, let's just get to the auditorium for the opening ceremony." Iggy says and him and Zach both starting to drag me to the said auditorium.

Maybe half an hour later or so, the Headmaster was just finishing his impossibly long speech and introducing the staff members.

"...and now, introducing our new grade 10 home teacher, Mr. Nicholas "Fang" Carter!" Headmaster Smith exclaims, clapping his wrinkled hands and motioning for me to get to the podium. When I stand and walk over to the podium to give my small speech I receive a series of gasps, probably because I'm so young and impossibly hot. (Just kidding, I'm not that full of myself...yet)

"Hello everyone, as mentioned, my name is Nicholas Fang Carter. Quite frankly I go by Fang, but to all of you out here in the audience, I am Mr. Carter. I know you are all most likely gaping at me like fish because of how young I look, and that is because, I am young. 19 years of age in fact, 20 in a year and a half. Now, just a warning in advance, just because I am young does not mean I am going to go easy on all of you; also, any attempts at me are worthless since I am already engaged. Please take care of me this year." I say in a few breaths, smiling the whole time. After that, for a few moments there is silence and looks of awe from a few of the female students, and then a round of applause, for who knows what reason.

I simply shrug and roll my shoulders in the stiff suit I was wearing and go back to the seating area for staff members.

"Well then, now with that over, please go to your designated grade waiting areas to be given your classes and homeroom teacher's names." Headmaster Smith said warmly to everyone, dismissing them lightly. Quietly everyone got up and did as requested of them.

A few moments later, I and a few other teachers were waiting in a room for our turns to announce our students for homeroom. I quickly scanned over my list, and nearly chocked when I saw the name that my family had despised for generations, Ride.

**Muhaha aren't I an amazing person for updating this quickly? Well then, I am uploading chapter 3 and 4 very soon since I wrote them at about 1 in the morning yesterday. Anyways, be grateful and whatever. Review and Keep reading!**

**-JAMZD  
><strong>


	3. Chapter 3: Zach gets told off

**Arranged**

**As promised, here is chapter 3, quickly uploaded for all you great people. If you like the quick updates then I will continue them, but ONLY is the amount of reviews reaches 20. Anyways, here is your chapter!**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Maximum Ride or any of its characters.**

**CLAIMER: I do own the plot and self made characters.**

I had just about died when I saw that arrogant asshole walk up to the podium, and then I came back to life and died of shock when the Headmaster announced he would be one of the grade 10 homeroom teachers. Nudge, realizing who he was though, stopped gaping at him like a dead fish moments later. Then, he gave a speech and afterwards we were dismissed to go find out what classes we have for the semester.

When Nudge and I got to the grade 10 room, we were welcomed by a sea of people; all crowded around a small stage where 4 teachers, one of them being my homeroom teacher stood. After a few minutes, one of them asked us to all calm down and take a seat in one of the chairs that had been set up for us and then line up under a respective sign if they called us. And so they began, each teacher giving their list of students, the sea of students getting smaller; and then there were 2 teachers left, Mr. Arrogant Asshole (Fang) and Mrs. Downey. Fang went before her and began calling out his list. I listened bleakly to the husky voice.

"...Lucy Suzanne Martindale; Maxine Kadirina Ride..." Just then I chocked on my own shock as he called my name and sat there frozen till Nudge nudged (A\N: ROFL) me and I got up, walking stiffly to the line up.

He continued calling names with an impassive face and eventually got to the end when he called a name that almost hurt to hear, "Zachary Cole Kaine". Just as I hoped and feared, a very familiar looking 16 year old, curly haired, guy stood up and walked to our line, only glancing at me from the side. But if he was still the Zach I knew, then he was definitely freaking out on the inside.

"Alright class, let's make our way to our homeroom." Fang says with a grin as he turns to us. Reluctantly I follow the group to our homeroom, leaving Nudge behind, who has gotten Mrs. Downey as her teacher.

Once in our homeroom we all sit down at desks that have plaques with out names on them. Luckily, my desk is beside a window where I can day dream all I want; unfortunately, it is beside Zach's desk and only 3 rows away from Fang's big mahogany teacher desk.

"So, why don't we all get to know each other, starting at the back?" Fang says, nodding to a frizzy haired strawberry blonde girl, hiding her face in a book. Almost immediately she drops the book though and stands up.

"Well, my name is Bethany Clark, Beth is just fine. My family owns a hospital chain. I plan to become a neurologist in the future and I enjoy golfing." She says, with a bit of a lisp.

After that, all of the introductions blur, until they reach Zach.

"Hey people, well as my overly fancy plaque says, my name is Zachary Cole Kaine; it is preferred that you call me Zach. I don't come from a family with an abundant amount of money, but my father works for Carter corporations and well, the rest is classified information." Zach says with a grin and a wink, just at that moment I was sure that about half of the girls in the class swooned. (By the way, there are 17 of us) Then Fang nodded in my direction. I stood up and brushed a strand of hair out of my face.

"My name is Maxine Kadirina Ride, but if you call me by my first name then you are good as well digging your own grave. If you do some research on me, you will find that I am the heiress to Ride and Co. as well as if you check up on my student record you are likely to find that I'm not a straight laced prissy girl; quite the opposite." I say with an impassive face and take my seat again, the entire class in silence, except of course, Mr. Arrogant.

"Great, I'll make sure to add you to my watch list Ms. Ride." Fang says to me with a smirk and then nods to the next student. The rest of the introductions pass and then we are at Fang.

"Right, well you all received my introduction at the beginning of today, but I guess I should extend it, seeing that you are my main class." He says, taking a deep breath. "I am at all times to be known as Mr. Carter unless permission is given to you by me for you to address me as Fang. This year will probably one of the most interesting academic years of your life; especially with my close friend and practically brother, Zach, being in this class. As of this moment, it does not matter who you are or what family you come from, you are all going to be treated equally, no exceptions. I will also be the French teacher for some of you. Also, as of now, the only students permitted to address me as Fang are Ms. Ride, and Zach." Fang says in a few quick breaths. Jesus, was he the male version of Nudge or something? "And just a quick note, aside from teaching, I will not actually speak very much." Ah, there it is. I guess I am relatively safe now.

The rest of our class passed easily and we were assigned a mini project to write a page about who we are and what we aspire to do with our lives one day. I could already bet that about half the people in our class would write that they were aiming to be an actor or actress.

When the bell rang everyone got up and grabbed their bags, getting ready to walk down the grand halls to their next class. I on the other hand decided for the big wave of people to disappear before I walked out; unfortunately Zach and Fang had the same idea.

"Hey Max, long time no see." Zach says to me easily, trying to be social.

"Listen and listen well Kaine, you are the second last person I would ever want to talk to, the first one being the arrogant asshole over there." I say, pointing at the silent Fang. "I don't care about you or anything to do with you, at least not since you walked out on Scarlet Wind and joined The Midnight Howls. So do both of us a favour, and both you and Fang stay away from me as much as humanly possible." At this point, I could tell that Zach was feeling hurt, and I was too, so I quickly turned away and bolted out the door, tears trickling down my cheeks. I didn't know where exactly I was running to, but I just knew that anywhere but here would be good. Eventually I burst out of a door that led to a deserted stair way and I slumped against the stone wall behind me, breathing in the fresh air and wishing that the day would just end.

I must have fallen asleep, because awhile later I was awoken by a slightly ticked off and worried looking Ari.

"Max, what happened, why did you cut all your morning classes? The Headmaster had me called over here from the college campus." Ari asked me.

I tried to tell him, but burst out crying as I tried to. Between gasps and sobs I explained it all to him.

"Okay, so getting this straight, Zach is back and in your class, Fang, your arranged fiancée, is your homeroom teacher, you and Nudge only have 2 classes together aside from lunch, and it feels like the hole in your heart is getting rubbing alcohol poured on it since you can just sense how close Zach and Fang are…that it?" Ari asks, gasping for air.

"Basically yeah…" I sniffle. I was kind of ashamed by how weak I felt at the moment, but I brushed it off and continued crying into Ari's shoulder, he only hugged me tighter and rubbed circles into my back like he used to when we were younger.

"Max, it is going to be okay...and everything happens for a reason right? Besides, Max, you are one of the strongest people I know, you can withstand this. You just gott I had just about died when I saw that arrogant asshole walk up to the podium, and then I came back to life and died of shock when the Headmaster announced he would be one of the grade 10 homeroom teachers. Nudge, realizing who he was though, stopped gaping at him like a dead fish moments later. Then, he gave a speech and afterwards we were dismissed to go find out what classes we have for the semester.

When Nudge and I got to the grade 10 room, we were welcomed by a sea of people, all crowded around a small stage where stood 4 teachers, one of them being my homeroom teacher. After a few minutes, one of them asked us to all calm down and take a seat in one of the chairs that had been set up for us and then line up under a respective sign if they called us. And so they began, each teacher giving their list of students, the sea of students getting smaller; and then there were 2 teachers left, Mr. Arrogant Asshole (Fang) and Mrs. Downey. Fang went before her and began calling out his list. I listened bleakly to the husky voice.

"...Lucy Suzanne Martindale; Maxine Kadirina Ride..." Just then I chocked on my own shock as he called my name and sat there frozen till Nudge nudged (A\N: ROFL) me and I got up, walking stiffly to the line up.

He continued calling names with an impassive face and eventually got to the end when he called a name that almost hurt to hear, "Zachary Cole Kaine". Just as I hoped and feared, a very familiar looking 16 year old, curly haired, guy stood up and walked to our line, only glancing at me from the side. But if he was still the Zach I knew, then he was definitely freaking out on the inside.

"Alright class, let's make our way to our homeroom." Fang says with a grin as he turns to us. Reluctantly I follow the group to our homeroom, leaving Nudge behind, who has gotten Mrs. Downey as her teacher.

Once in our homeroom we all sit down at desks that have plaques with out names on them. Luckily, my desk is beside a window where I can day dream all I want, unfortunately, it is beside Zach's desk and only 3 rows away from Fang's big mahogany teacher desk.

"So, why don't we all get to know each other, starting at the back." Fang says, nodding to a frizzy haired strawberry blonde girl, hiding her face in a book. Almost immediately she drops the book though and stands up.

"Well, my name is Bethany Clark, Beth is just fine. My family owns a hospital chain. I plan to become a neurologist in the future and I enjoy golfing." She says, with a bit of a lisp.

After that, all of the introductions blur, until they reach Zach.

"Hey people, well as my overly fancy plaque says, my nam is Zachary Cole Kaine; it is preferred that you call me Zach. I don't come from a family with an abundant amount of money, but my father works for Carter corporations and well, the rest is classified information." Zach says with a grin and a wink, just at that moment I was sure that about half of the girls in the class swooned. (By the way, there are 17 of us) Then Fang nodded in my direction. I stood up and brushed a strand of hair out of my face.

"My name is Maxine Kadirina Ride, but if you call me by my first name then you are good as well digging your own grave. If you do some research on me, you will find that I am the heiress to Ride and Co. as well as if you check up on my student record you are likely to find that I'm not a straight laced priss; quite the opposite." I say with an impassive face and take my seat again, the entire class in silence, except of course, Mr. Arrogant.

"Great, I'll make sure to add you to my watch list ." Fang says to me with a smirk and then nods to the next student. The rest of the introductions pass and then we are at Fang.

"Right, well you all received my introduction at the beginning of today, but I guess I should extend it, seeing that you are my main class." He says, taking a deep breath. "I am at all times to be known as Mr. Carter unless permission is given to you by me for you to address me as Fang. This year will probably one of the most interesting academic years of your life; especially with my close friend and practically brother, Zach, being in this class. As of this moment, it does not matter who you are or what family you come from, you are all going to be treated equally, no exceptions. I will also be the French teacher for some of you. Also, as of now, the only students permitted to address me as Fang are Ms. Ride, and Zach." Fang says in a few quick breaths. Jesus, was he the male version of Nudge or something? "And just quick note, aside from teaching, I will not actually speak very much." Ah, there it is. I guess I am relatively safe now.

The rest of our class passed easily and we were assigned a mini project to write a page about who we are and what we aspire to do with our lives one day. I could already bet that about half the people in our class would write that they were aiming to be an actor or actress.

When the bell rang everyone got up and grabbed their bags, getting ready to walk down the grand halls to their next class. I on the other hand decided for the big wave of people to disappear before I walked out; unfortunately Zach and Fang had the same idea.

"Hey Max, long time no see." Zach says to me easily, trying to be social.

"Listen and listen well Kaine, you are the second last person I would ever want to talk to, the first one being the arrogant asshole over there." I say, pointing at the silent Fang. "I don't care about you or anything to do with you, at least not since you walked out on Scarlet Wind and joined The Midnight Howls. So do both of us a favor, and both you and Fang stay away from me as much as humanly possible." At this point, I could tell that Zach was feeling hurt, and I was too, so I quickly turned away and bolted out the door, tears trickling down my cheeks. I didn't know where exactly I was running to, but I just knew that anywhere but here would be good. Eventually I bursted out of a door that led to a deserted stair way and I slumped against the stone wall behind me, breathing in the fresh air and wishing that the day would just end.

I must have fallen asleep, because awhile later I was awoken by a slightly ticked off and worried looking Ari.

"Max, what happened, why did you cut all your morning classes? The Headmaster had me called over here from the college campus." Ari asked me.

I tried to tell him, but burst out crying as I tried to. Between gasps and sobs I explained it all to him.

"Okay, so getting this straight, Zach is back and in your class, Fang, your arranged fiancée, is your homeroom teacher, you and Nudge only have 2 classes together aside from lunch, and it feels like the hole in your heart is getting rubbing alcohol poured on it since you can just sense how close Zach and Fang are…that it?" Ari asks, gasping for air.

"Basically yeah..." I sniffle. I was kind of ashamed by how weak I felt at the moment, but I brushed it off and continued crying into Ari's shoulder, he only hugged me tighter and rubbed circles into my back like he used to when we were younger.

"Max, it is going to be okay...and everything happens for a reason right? Besides, Max, you are one of the strongest people I know, you can withstand this. You just need to try." Ari says confidently and looks at me with a smile. I nod and detach myself from him. I am lucky to have a practically my older brother, person like him next to me. I climbed off the cold ground and wiped my face dry, I mean, Ari is right, I am stronger than this. I silently vow to myself then, that today will be one the last days that I ever let myself show my weakness to just anyone.

**Alright! There is the promised speedy update! Okay anyways, chapter 4 should be up before the end of the day for me… So yeah, just wait! Review and Keep reading!**

**-JAMZD  
><strong>


	4. Chapter 4: Dylan Introduced

**Arranged**

**So for starters, here is your quick chapter 4! Also I am extremely sorry for the mess up in chapter 3. It's just that I was updating from school and then computer I used is retarded and messed it up…..**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Maximum Ride or any of its characters.**

**CLAIMER: I do own the plot and self made characters.**

Zach and I were left there stunned as Max raced out of the room. I mean, what could Zach have possibly done to make her hate him so much? I mean, I already know that she hates me because I am a Carter and also because she is being forced to marry me, but why hate good old loveable Zach?

"I really hoped she wouldn't be like this...but then again, she is Max." Zach says, almost affectionately to himself.

"To think, I have to marry her...By the way, what in the hell did you do to her to make her act that way towards you?" I ask curiously.

"It's a really long story." Zach says regretfully.

"Then tell me after school. Now you better hurry or you are going to be late for your next class." I say, ushering Zach out the door.

The rest of my day passed quickly and easily. When I was teaching grade 10 French, I was surprised when Max didn't show up and slightly worried since I know that she is a gang leader, so I called the Headmaster and had him send her bodyguard, Ari, out to find her.

Max was found by the end of lunch and refused to tell anyone what happened, that is except for some girl named Monique who was apparently going by the name Nudge. I quickly learned why when I asked her about Max during lunch; that girl just about never shuts up.

By the final bell I was basically dead as I trudged towards the parking lot where I met up with Iggy, who I heard had already gotten 4 different dates, and Zach who had basically gotten told off by Max with me standing right there.

"Yo! Bro! So I hear you got your future Mrs. in your class? Nice job man." Iggy says with a stupid grin once we got in the car. "You know, she is actually pretty hot and has a rocking body. Bluntly, I wouldn't mind teaching her a few 'big kid' things to do for fun." Iggy said with obviously perverted thoughts running through his head.

I rolled my eyes and stared out the window to see Max getting on the back of some guys motorcycle, Ari and her friend Nudge were obviously trying to get her to ride in the car, but she was not listening to them. She had also slipped on a black leather jacket that had a scarlet thundercloud embroidered on the back. She then put a black helmet on over her head and gripped onto the guy's waist as they took off towards the gates. I stopped looking out the window and instead turned my eyes to a sad looking Zach.

"So who was that guy?" I ask with a cocked eyebrow. I mean, I should at least know who the hell my future wife is hanging out with.

"An old friend of mine, also the new second in command of Scarlet Wind...Dylan Chase. Rumour has it that he and Max are in an intimate relationship on the side. Knowing Dylan though, I highly doubt it." Zach tells me bluntly. Iggy is silent since he is busy texting about 8 different girls on his phone.

"Oh. You know, you still have a long story to tell me when we get back to the main house." I say to Zach. He nods solemnly and the rest of the drive back was completely silent.

Once we reached the entrance of the main house we all climbed out, Iggy went off to who knows where, and I dragged Zach to the recreation room where we began a game of darts.

"Alright Z, start talking..." I command, launching my first shot at the cork board. Zach seems to have to gather something up in himself before he starts talking.

"Back when my family and I lived on the other side of the city, I was part of Scarlet Wind, second in command in fact. Max and I were inseparable, best friends since kindergarten. After a few years, in grade 6 I think, she, I, and a few of our other friends, including Dylan, decided to start our own gang outside of her big family one. I think that somewhere along the way, Max and I kind of fell in love with the other, but we never talked about it since we both knew very well about the arranged marriage between you and her. When my parents heard of this, they dragged my across the city to get as far away from Max as possible and had me join the Midnight Howls in an effort to keep the peace between the two families. Listen, Max knows her duties to her family, but she is very resistant to you, and if she is still the Max that I know, then I can sure as hell bet you that it will be at least a lifetime before she willingly gives in to you." Zach says in a few short minutes. I sat there nodding the whole time.

"Trust me Zach, she will be mine by the deadline, weather she likes it or not." I say devilishly, chucking another dart at the board. Zach seems to shutter when it hits the dead center, but quickly shrugs it off.

A few hours later Iggy reappears with satisfied grin on his face and I learn that he was on a date with one of my students.

"Ig, isn't that called being a pedophile?" I ask with a cocked eyebrow.

"Ah who knows? All I care is that she has a huge rack."

"Oh, are you talking about Raquel Modiér?" Zach asked, suddenly interested.

"Yeah! She has about an -" I cut off Iggy.

"Before you get too excited, she is also to be married to some guy named Jake Lockworthy." I say bluntly. Iggy's eyes widen and he seems to completely wipe Raquel out of his memory.

"Oh, by the way, your dad called and said you are set to have dinner with your fiancée tonight." Iggy says, snapping out of his daze. Zach finches a bit from hearing this, I only nod and head to my room here I find that Iggy had laid out my charcoal grey suit with the silk chrome blue dress shirt and has also put my keys to the black corvette on my night table. I sigh and begin getting dressed for the forced date with Max.

**Yes, so there is chapter 4! Muahaha triple update! Anyways, back to hanging out with my beloved Ky Powers….Review and Keep reading!**

**-JAMZD  
><strong>


	5. Chapter 5: Corvette Argument Chronicles!

**Arranged**

**As promised, since 20 reviews were reached, I will try my best to update A.S.A.P! And yes people, I am sorry, and I know that I have bad grammar at times…But I am more than sure that it is okay to have bad grammar when you are writing something at 3AM and then being too tired to properly edit! Anyways, I will try to brush up on my grammar from now on, so please continue reading! Also, a special thanks to all my readers that have followed my other stories, a few of the said readers to mention are Serenaisbestezrq387 and Lizziekaerocks77; love you both so much, thanks for supporting my writing and pointing out mistakes in the writing or showing me ideas to attract more readers! Anyways, also, before we start the chapter, I would like to state that if after every chapter the number of reviews can increase by _at__least_10 reviews, then I will put in short character bio's from my perspective at the end of each chapter as well as put an even larger effort into updating more often!**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Maximum Ride or any of its characters.**

**CLAIMER: I do own the plot and self made characters.**

About _2__minutes_ after I stepped through the front door I was told to go to my room where I would be prepared by Nina and Nudge. Unknowing and uncaring for the reason, I followed suit. It was not until _after_ I had been turned into a _life-size__equivalent_ of Barbie, that I learned the reason.

I am being _forced_ to go on a first date with none other than, _Fang._

"But dad, are you absolutely sure that we can't pretend I went comatose after a tragic accident?" I whined, and yes I can whine.

"Maxine Kadirina Ride, for the _29__th_ and _final_ time, you _will_ be going on that date with the Carter boy!" My father exclaimed in his strong and oddly warm voice; well at least oddly warm for someone so involved with the underworld.

"But da—"

"No buts about it Maxine, now go see your mother for the finishing touches she wanted to add!" He exclaimed again, cutting me off _and_ dismissing me. With a huff and sigh I sulked over to my mother's study.

My father is not the _only_ one in our family that has a job, my mother does too. She is a fashion designer, so both she and my father travel often for business matters and for the sake of publicity. With things that way, I am often left alone at home and so I was practically raised by Nina. I am still fairly close with my mother though.

As I reached the cherry wood door, I knocked lightly and heard my mom's light and bubbly voice carry out from the other side, beckoning me to come in.

"Oh, Max! You look beautiful! That Fang will have to be a crazy man to keep his hands off of you tonight!" My mom exclaimed with glittering eyes, mostly because she was wearing these new types of contacts that her company had manufactured; the contacts changed colour according to your mood and literally glowed and glittered! It was sure as hell creepy, but also interesting.

"Thanks mom. So, dad said you wanted to add some finishing touches?"

"Yes, come and sit over here with mama." My mom said ecstatically while patting the other side of the leather bench she was sitting on as she looked over next season's designs. I nodded my head and went to go sit next to her.

"Alright mom, do what you need to do." I say, hoping she won't go over board.

My mom nods her head excitedly and almost immediately has me open my eyes as wide as humanly possible so that she can put the contacts in. After that she asks me to close my eyes, so I do just that. Then she gets up and goes behind me, a few seconds later she places something cold and light around my neck. Afterwards she tells me to open my eyes.

"Mom, is this Grammie's green sapphire necklace?" I ask in shock, since the said necklace is one of my mom's most treasured possessions.

"Yes, and I want you to have it." Mom says to me with a smile. "I wore this necklace on my first date with your father and it brought me many good things and helped me meet many wonderful people." Her eyes, crinkled a little and she dabbed at them with the back of her hand.

"Okay mom, I will take good care of it." I say with a smile that I force to reach my eyes. I mean, I am glad that she has trusted me with something so valuable, but at the same time I feel guilty since I have such a strong feeling that Fang and I will not hit it off and in the end, marry each other only for the business.

"Alright Hun, now go off and have fun!" My mom says with a grin as she begins ushering me out the door. I laugh lightly and make my way to the front entrance where Fang is supposed to pick me up.

While waiting for Fang I toy around with the edges of my dress. Much to my dismay, Nudge was the one that chose my outfit and so, I have been forced into a simple and solid emerald green silk dress that is half way down my thighs, but spreads down to my knees with a few thin layers of gossamer fabric in the same colour. To add to that, I have cork and fabric emerald green wedges that have a ribbon that goes half way up my calve. Other than that, I look pretty simple and ordinary, with my brown hair in a simple and slightly messy braid.

Just as I started to fidget with the necklace the door bell rang, and there standing tall with a smirk painted across his face, was Fang. Behind him was a black corvette and really made his charcoal grey suit stick out.

"You ready to go, _Maxine_?" He asked smugly.

"Oh course, _Mr.__Carter_." I sneered. Before closing the door I waved to Nina who had been standing at the foot of the stairs to make sure I left okay. Before I could call out to the house that I was leaving, Fang grabbed my wrist and began dragging me to the car.

"This is no way to treat your _student_, Mr. Carter." I say to him sarcastically.

"Well, you are not just a _student_, you are also my _fiancée_." He said annoyed; he obviously did not want to be here.

"Trust me, if I had it my way, then I would be neither to you." I grumbled as I whisked my wrist out of his hand and marched to the car. Fang sighed behind me and muttered something about an ungrateful 16 year old.

In the car, I quickly noticed that it had been customized, being mostly black in the entire car. It also had a state of the art stereo with satellite stations from across the world. Once we started driving Fang turned on the impressive radio and we drove in silence to the date place he had picked out. After awhile the silence began to ring in my ears.

"So, where he hell are you taking me?"

"Bottom of the ocean if I had it my way, but I need to be daddy's little mannequin."

"Excuse me? Bottom of the ocean? Wow Fang, drowning your fiancée, impressive idea, so original!"

"I'm joking, brat! We're going to go meet up with the Midnight Howls at a karaoke bar."

"What? Hell to the no! I am not singing karaoke with Howlers!"

"You don't have much of a choice, brat!"

"I know that, and I have a name by the way!"  
>"Fine, you don't have much of a choice, Maxine!"<p>

"God damn you, Fang! Go to hell for all I care!"

"If I went to hell I would have to still live with you!"

"Go suck an egg, asshole!" I screamed finally, basically winning the stupid argument. But really, I don't want to sing karaoke with my enemies!

Suddenly I got a ping from my purse. I quickly pulled out my phone to check, and found that I was getting a text from Dylan.

_**D: Yo! Max, where the hell are you?**_

_**M: Being forced on a date with Fang.**_

_**D: Say what? Where is he taking you?**_

_**M: Local karaoke bar, probably the one close to the academy. Why?**_

_**D: Nothing, just wondering.**_

_**M: Alright. I need to go; the king of arrogance is staring at me.**_

_**D: Okay, Lates!**_

Sighing I shut off my phone and put it back in my purse.

"You know, it is rude to text another guy when on a date."

"Who said I think of this as a date. In fact I think of it more as a kidnapping."

"Whatever, just be glad I'm not as big of a pervert as Iggy."

"Are you admitting you're a pervert?"

"In a way, yes, yes I am."

"Great, my homeroom teacher is a pervert." I said, rolling my eyes. After that there was silence again until we reached the suspected karaoke bar.

Once inside, Fang was greeted by a small group of people, who in turn glared at me. There was one completely familiar face though; Zach.

"Thought you said we were meeting with Midnight Howl." I whispered to Fang.

"We are, just not everyone." He said to me from the side.

"Yo, Fang, isn't that the leader of Scarlet Wind?" A short haired blonde girl asked.

"Yeah, what is she doing here?" Demanded a leather clad muscle guy.

"Calm down. Tonight, she comes in peace. I expect you all to be nice to her, seeing as she is my fiancée and one of my students." Fang's announcement brought around a few gasps, except from Zach and Iggy.  
>After that, I only received a few wary glances from the side from the other Howlers. But eventually we were all comfortable and even sang a few good rounds of karaoke.<p>

Everything was going good and well… That is until J.J., Suzan, Dylan, and a few other Scarlet Winds burst through the door and began trying to take me with them.

**Okay, so I hope you find that my grammar is better in this chapter! Review and Keep reading!**

**-JAMZD  
><strong>


	6. Chapter 6: Flash to the Past

**Arranged**

**So once more, the goal was reached for reviews. I am pretty sure this chapter is going to be the longest so far, and it really reveals stuff about Max's past.**

**WARNING- if you are easy to cry, you might want a box of tissues with you when you read about Max's past.**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Maximum Ride or any of its characters.**

**CLAIMER: I do own the plot and self made characters.**

You know, things had actually been going well for a bit, despite the fact that the previous half hour had been filled with arguing, sarcasm, and snide remarks; but then Scarlet Wind showed up.

"Give us back Max!" Yelled a short and pixie-like girl with curly cherry red locks that hung down her back; covering her sprite green eyes.

"Jeez, Laurel, calm down. We don't need to start with the screaming right away." Claimed a guy that was tall and willowy that was hiding his eyes behind dark aviators.

"Uh, yeah we do! At least when it comes to Max we do, Jared," Declared a tall, smart, looking girl with very darkly tanned skin that accompanied cropped hair that covers her head like a sleek silk cap.

"Scarlet Winders; what the hell is with this argument? Get it together! Dylan didn't send us here for nothing, and J.J. is right. When it comes to Max we go full out!" Declared an average looking girl, with a not so average sized chest, if you get what I mean.

"Oh, Suzan, can it! I sent you guys here to check up on her, not start a freaking debate." Exclaimed the guy that Max had held on to when he came to pick her up from W.L, who I suspected was Dylan. Dylan looked probably the most interesting out of the group that had walked in. Plain dusty blonde hair, with a shocking streak of neon pink where his swept bangs are, piercing blue eyes...kind of like one of those sexy hardcore punk guys you would see on a band cover.

"Fang, you are thinking out loud again." Iggy groaned. My face then turned scarlet as Dylan turned to me with a cocked eyebrow.

"Did you just call me a 'sexy hardcore punk guy'?" Dylan asked me.

"Yes, yes he did. Is there a problem with that, pink boy?" The short haired blonde, Dixie asked him with an intimidating look.

"Maybe there is, pixie cut." Dylan replied with his hands up in innocence.

"Just because you are working under out boss's future wife doesn't mean we won't beat you black and blue." Growled the leather clad Kyle.

Max coughed and stepped on my foot, as if telling me to back out of this argument between the gangs, for now.

For the next 45 minutes of my life, the two gangs bickered and argued like toddlers on steroids. It was actually quite entertaining; to the point that Max and I even ordered popcorn from the snack bar.

"So how much longer do you think they are going to go at it?" Max whispered to me as I shoved a handful of popcorn into my mouth. I swallowed quickly.

"Who knows, I mean Zach and Iggy have not gotten involved yet. In fact they are playing crazy 8's in the corner. Plus Kyle and Dixie can really hold an argument and keep it boiling. Once, they argued non stop with each other for a full 3 and a half hours." I snickered.

"Holy crap," Max hissed through little giggles. "Well you see the cherry red curls? That's Laurel De Murkier; she is almost exactly like Nudge when it comes to arguments. She normally does not like to argue, but once you get her started, it's like a never ended recording. Eventually it just sounds like a buzz in your ear." Max whispered back to me happily.

"Oh. Hey, by the way, what is up with Dylan's hair?"

"Oh...Couldn't you tell? Dylan is gay." Max said to me matter-of-factly. I though, gaped like a fish since I didn't notice.

"...Go rot in a hell hole!" Blasted Suzan to the already fuming Dixie.

"Oh why don't you, you artificial Barbie!" Dixie screamed back, obviously meaning Suzan's impressive chest.

Max suddenly got off the couch where she and I had been sitting together, feasting on the over buttered popcorn.

"Okay, enough. Stop now please." Max said politely. No one listened though. Max waited a few more minutes and Zach looked over the situation. Obviously sensing something coming he covered his ears.

"GODDAMN IT! I SAID STOP IT NOW! ALL OF YOU, SIT YOUR ASSES DOWN ON A COUCH AND LISTEN TO ME!" Max suddenly shrieked at the top of her lungs. I mean, who knew, such a loud voice could come from such a beautiful, small, and almost baby animal like person? I mean I know she is strong willed, but behind all that it is almost like she is hiding a sorrowful past which keeps her motivated to keep moving. She is so beautiful as the steam rolls out her ear that I could practically kiss her—wait what the hell? This is Max I'm thinking about! One of my students, a 16 year old! But also my fiancée... I wonder what she would be like in bed... Oh and our children would look amazing, with epic hair and shit like that!

Finally I noticed that everything in the room was absolutely silent and everyone was staring at me with a dropped jaw.

"What are you all gaping about?" I asked with a smirk.

"You were thinking out loud again, genius. Or should we call you Mr. Pervert?" Iggy snickered.

"Oh no, you did not just think about Max that way!" Dylan practically screamed as he flipped his hair, and for the first time, I noticed that he was wearing white skin-tight skinny jeans.

"That's it, I'm doomed. I am being bound by law to a pedophiliac pervert that has thoughts about his students in bed." Max said with a horrified and grave voice as she gave herself a strong face palming.

"Wow, didn't know you had it in yourself bro! And didn't I tell you? Max has a rocking body...too bad you are going to get to teach her the 'big kid' games before I do." Iggy said with a grin.

Max only gave a more horrified look before she suddenly dropped to the ground unconscious.

We all looked shocked by this, except for Dylan, J.J., Suzan, and Laurel.

"J.J., grab her arms." Dylan commanded calmly. J.J. nodded and did what she was told.

"Wow, wait you guys. I thought she got better, that she was cured!" Zach exclaimed, worried.

"She was fine, but then when you left, she relapsed." Laurel said with a grim expression.

"Wow, say what?" I asked, panicked and curious.

"It's a really long and complicated story." Suzan said after exchanging glances with the other Winders. I simply nodded my head.

"I have time."

"Okay, then let's begin. Dylan, you tell him." Laurel said with a big breath and she motioned to Dylan, who with the help of J.J. had set Max down on a couch.

"Okay, it all began when we were only 6 years old. Max was getting bullied a lot at school, but by this time we all had already met and so we were all beating the crap out of the jerks that bothered her. One day, she got attacked when we weren't around to help, 3 of us had been sick, one of us on vacation, and another one of us had detention, so basically, Max was all alone. Now the reason that she was getting bullied was because of rumours about her family. She hated the rumours and would try to fight back, but in the end she would be pushed back into her corner. Eventually things got so bad that she just stopped telling us or someone and that she began cutting herself, at first only on her palms since she always wore these leather gloves that she had gotten from her Grammie. One day Ari, her bodyguard, came up to us during a break and asked if anything bad was happening since apparently Max would disappear into her room on her own for long periods of time and that her nanny, Nina, had found a few bloody tissues stashed away. Now, Max had never cut deep enough to leave scars, but she does have a few on her arms, but those are from when we got older." Dylan took a deep breath and looked over at Zach who nodded and began speaking.

"Okay well, this is stuff that happened way back. Anyways, once we found out and told her parents, they sent her to a specialist to get the cutting to stop; which it did, but the bullying did not. By this time we were in grade 5 and Max had been cutting for roughly 3 years, but had been off for the past 2. Anyways, she started stress eating, which was caused by the bullying but also from the new found stress of having to leave a really positive impression on her little sister who was about 2 years old. Now, Max started to get bullied about being over weight, which started her anorexia nervosa and bulimia. All that stress piled over eventually. It all went over board on the night that she and her younger sister had gone to a local park with one of their maids, and on the way back, Max... Max witnessed the maid and her little sister getting run over by a truck." Zach's voice cracked at this. "After that, life was torturous for Max. We told her parents about everything; including the bulimia and anorexia nervosa, and just as Max started to cut again they sent her off to a special care center. By grade 7 she was back to school and her healthy self again, though she did suffer some PTSD (post traumatic stress syndrome). For a long time, everything at school was going well, until apparently when my family moved me away suddenly." Zach then looked over at J.J. who nodded.

"After Zach moved away without a single word and we got wind about his position in the Howlers, Max was devastated. Of course she never said anything to us, pretending to be strong for us and carrying the burden herself, but we knew. Eventually she relapsed into the cutting, which got replaced by the eating disorders, soon she started to just starve herself all the time, and over exert herself. We all could see what was happening to her, and so we had her family call another specialist. This time, it all went away. That is, until the wedding got changed and she learned that she would have to marry into the Carter family. She still has not personally told any of us, but it is obvious since there are new white scars crisscrossing her palms and the undersides of her arms as well as her not eating enough for the normal her when ever we go out. Anyways, right now, she is most likely to have just passed out from lack of food and dehydration." J.J. said quickly.

I was shocked, and by the looks of the other Howlers, they were too. Even Zach was shocked to find that he had put such a terrible effect on Max. I mean, I guess that the Max that was always talked about really is that strong. She went through all this up until now, and she is still trying to beat it; sure it is not the smartest thing to do all that stuff, but really, in her situation I can see it happening. Hopefully she will re-enter remission and stay there.

"Is that why you are all so over protective of her?" Iggy asks.

"Basically... Max is so many things to us; a mother, a sister, a friend, a leader, and most of all, a mentor. Without her, we wouldn't be who we are today...so we just don't want to see her get hurt." Jared says stiffly. I nod, and I know now that if I'm going to take care of Max it is going to be done right.

"Wait, so shouldn't we be getting her home to Nina?" Zach asks and suddenly everyone's eyes widen as we all scramble to pile into the cars and get to Max's house to nurse her back to health.

**So, yeah…Ultra long and dramatic chapter, right… Anyways, hoping the grammar was good enough in this chapter! Also, I realise I just pilled about 10 years of drama onto Max's life…But oh well! Anyways, don't worry, Max will be okay! Also, before I finish, Bulimia, Anorexia, Bulimia Nervosa, Anorexia Nervosa, and cutting are very serious things that should not be taken lightly. If you or anyone you know suffers from these or anything else that hurts them or damages them, then please tell someone before it's too late. Nothing is ever other unless you give up.**

**-JAMZD  
><strong>


	7. Chapter 7: Arguments

**Arranged**

**Okay, so the reviews are in and I am happy! Anyways, I know that Max now has like, a thousand problems, but that's what her Mr. Tall Dark and Purvey fiancée, Fang, is for! (As in, help her through all of it) Anyways, here is your chapter of the day, which will probably be shorter! Also, pardon my language in this chapter and probably in future chapters!**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Maximum Ride or any of its characters.**

**CLAIMER: I do own the plot and self made characters.**

The last thing I remembered was yelling at the Howlers and Winders. After that, everything is blurry. I do remember though, a numb pain in my stomach, probably because I only had an apple to eat today. At first it was a strange, alien, feeling that I had when I entered this state of just floating in matter; but now it feels like a fog is lifting, like a new world long forgotten is opening up to me.

The fog lifts and I'm in my bedroom. Thinking it was all a dream, I look around the room where I find that it wasn't a dream and that I now have a mix of Howlers and Winders in my room, all scattered around. Nudge is at the door and giving me the look, saying she knows what happened and that I should be ashamed of myself. I shrug and try to climb out of bed; I quickly find that my limbs have turned into linguini.

"Don't even think about it, Ride." Zach says, looking at me lazily from his spot on the floor beside the bed.

"What the hell are you talking about? You can't tell me what to do." I hiss at him.

"You're right, I can't, but I am pretty sure your father can, and he told me to tell you not to get out of bed." Zach says, still partly asleep. I sigh and let myself fall back onto the pillows.

"Why is everyone here?" I ask with a sigh.

"We were all worried about you." Zach says seriously.

"Why would Howlers be worried about me?"

"Because they admire you and because they heard about your past." Zach says confidently. My eyes instantly widen and I start trying to launch myself out of bed to strangle Zach.

"Zach, why did you tell them? That was my past, not yours!"

"Your darling fiancée wanted to know." Zach seemed to sneer with jealousy.

"Damn it! And who says I have to tell him everything?" I hiss, since everyone is still asleep.

"No one, but I want to ask who said you could keep this away from me." Zach says, obviously meaning my relapse; his eyes trailed to the new scars on my arms, which I suddenly realize are bare.

"Did…did everyone see the scars?" I ask sheepishly.

"Yes, they did. Now answer my question." Zach said with his jaw set as he sat up to look at me.

"I didn't tell you because I didn't know where you were! You walked out on us without a single word, you walked out on me! So you tell me Zach, why you deserved to know? You know very damn well that you either both stay and weigh-in or you stay out of it all and say nothing about it!" I almost scream at him; the others stir in their sleep.

"Yes, I know that Max! But that shouldn't apply to me! Goddamn it, Max! I've known you through all of it; I shouldn't be kept in the dark! You know how I feel about you!" Zach cries. I turn away.

"Yeah, I know how you feel about me. But you were a coward and ran away from it. A coward is not something I need in my life, not now, not ever." I say, staring out the window with a distant feeling. Everything is silent for a few moments and then Zach gets up and leaves, quietly shutting the door behind him. Once I hear him all the way down the hall I turn away from the window and left the pained tears leave my eyes.

"Max, why do you push him away? He's a good kid…" Iggy says to me from a darkened corner of the room.

"What? Were you eavesdropping?" I accuse.

"Well it wasn't exactly easy to sleep for someone so easy to wake as me," Iggy chuckles.

"Whatever, just don't freak at me."

"Freak at you about what? The eating disorders, the self inflicted pain, your inability to let someone close to you after they are forced to distance themselves for both of your safeties? Max, I don't know what you mean exactly, because there are so many things to freak at you about." Iggy says seriously, which is pretty surprising since I had heard around town that he is a total player. Scowling, Iggy gets up and leaves the room, probably to go find Zach.

I crumple over and curl up under my thick blankets, letting the big unshed tears out in silence, trying my best not to wake the others. I feel my eyelids grow heavier and I let myself fall back into the calm darkness. I let the fog shroud over me again, and let myself let go of reality. I know that there are things I need to get back to, friends and family, a fiancée, a gang… But right now, it is all just too much to handle. Right now, I need to relax.

A few hours later I wake up and find that everyone has left, except for Dylan who is sitting on my window bay that faces the courtyard.

"Hey, Dill…." I say coarsely because my throat is stupidly dry.

"Don't 'hey Dill' me, Maxine." Dylan says seriously, turning to face me. "Why didn't you tell us that you relapsed?"

"Because it is my problem and my burden to carry, not yours or anyone else's," I say with a stubborn set in my jaw.

"Bullshit," Dylan spits. "Bullshit, bullshit, bullshit! Bullshit all the way to freaking Nebraska!" He yells. "Damn it, Max! You knew we would have figured it out! All you care about is hurting yourself! Jesus! And you dare whine about what an asshole Fang is, when he sat there patiently throughout your whole story and didn't look away in disgust afterwards or treat you with sympathy? When he was here in your room, watching you, dripping some liquid food into your mouth while you were unconscious? Max, Fang is the going to be one of the best things to walk into your life but only if you let him!" Dylan screamed.

"How long was I out?" I ask, turning away from Dylan.

"3 days…3 fucking days, Max!" He screams at me. I quickly turn to face him by habit and find unshed tears making his eyes shine. "You can't keep doing this to yourself, Max! You aren't just hurting yourself, but also the people around you! Goddamn it! What's going to happen when you have to go through the pressure of being a mom one day? Are you going to relapse? Are you going to lock yourself away from the world? You tell me, you tell me what your going to do, Max!" Dylan screams. This is the first time I have ever seen him this hysterical.

"I don't know what I'm going to do….I don't freaking know!" I scream back at him. Dylan throws his arms up before dropping his hands and letting his head rest in them. After a few moments he looks back up at me.

"Everyone is still here, just waiting in the dining room. They are going to want to see you and make sure you are okay. Don't you dare cover those scars, Maxine Kadirina Ride! If you're going to mutilate yourself, then you're going to show people." Dylan says to me bluntly. I nod my head and he leaves for the dining room.

Weakly, I climb out of bed and wobble over to my closet to grab some new clothes. I quickly slip on a pair of sweats and an old t-shirt; just as I start to leave the room I notice it is a shirt that I had stolen from Zach when he had been all buff and needed bigger shirts. I smile to myself a bit and strut out of the room to the dining room with confidence.

When I get there, everyone looks like a wreck. Red-rimmed eyes, frazzled hair, nervous expressions. But Fang looks the worst out of them all.

"Sorry to make you all worry, but I guess it is good that you all found out." I say to everyone and they look up at me shocked, except for Dylan who stares out the window. "These are my scars. In a way, they are my history of suffering. I don't like being like this, but now; it's almost all I know." I say, turning around and rolling the back of the stolen t-shirt up, displaying the crisscrossing white marks on my back for them to see.

"I would ask why, but I already know." Fang says emotionally. "I will request for my father to find a different way for our families to form an alliance. The wedding will be called off." He says quietly as he stands up and stalks out of the room. The Howlers give me a torn glance, and then get up to go after their leader.

**ZOMG! Fang is going to call off the wedding so that some of the stress can be relieved from Max! But what is Max going to realise when she finds herself feeling like something is missing? And doesn't it seem like she argued a lot in the past day? Oh well… Review and keep reading!**

**-JAMZD  
><strong>


	8. Chapter 8: Chick at the Bar

**Arranged**

**Now that I look at it again, I realize that the previous chapter was strangely intense for my usual chapter style. Any who, here is your next chapter! Also, I probably will not update from the 24th to the 26th of December!**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Maximum Ride or any of its characters.**

**CLAIMER: I do own the plot and self made characters.**

I don't know why, but as I climbed into my black corvette and sped away from the Ride estate, my chest tightened and it kind of felt like I was being stabbed in the upper left part of my chest…what was is it called again? Oh right, my heart. Yes, it felt like I was being stabbed in my heart. But I wasn't sure why at the time, in fact I didn't figure out why until much later when I was making out with a random chick I picked up at the bar, trying to get rid of the feeling.

The girl that was currently on top of me is probably underage, and her parents probably don't know where she is. Normally I would've sent her home in a cab, but for some insane reason, I just craved her; every part of her, from the deep brown eyes to the wavy brown hair. I don't know why, since I don't normally go for such simple girls, but then as she looked at me as our lips parted for breath, I instantly knew. She looks like Max. I quickly pushed her off me and stood up. She looked up at me with a pissed expression.

"What the hell was that for?" She asked, still panting.

"Go home; your parents are probably worrying." I say to her over my shoulder as I walk out of the back room we were in. She probably would have chased after me, but I quickly left the bar and walked in a bee line to my car. Once in my car I turned on the Bluetooth and ordered the Bluetooth voice thing to call Iggy on his cell.

"Yo, Fang, what do you need?"

"Where are you and the Howlers?"

"The other Howlers went home but Zach and I are still at the Ride estate talking to the Winders, except for Max. She went and locked herself in her room."

"Alright, I'm heading over there right now. Do whatever it takes to get Max out of her room."

"What? Why?"

"I'll explain later. Just do what I told you to do." I say quickly and then cut off the call. At the moment, I had the feeling that I was going over the speed limit and would probably get shit for it later, but it didn't matter. All that mattered was getting to Max.

I sped through the gates of the estate and I could just imagine the bewildered looks from the guard as I caused his coffee to spill all over him. I laughed to myself silently and skidded to a stop at the front door to the main house. I jumped out of the corvette and pounded across the cobblestone pathway leading to the door, my leather shoes smacking the ground, and just as I was going to tear the door open, the kind old maid, Nina, opened it for me and smiled.

"Your friends are trying to take her door down." She said with a smile as she opens the door wider for me to get in. I grin and charge up the mahogany staircase, headed for Max's room. I could remember how to get there in my mind's eye. Down the hall, a left, and last door on the right.

As I neared the door I could see Zack, Iggy, Jared, and Ari all trying to push the door down; Dylan, Nudge, J.J., Suzan, and Laurel were cheering them on from the side. They all looked at me as I came skidding down the hallway towards them; the guys moved away from the door and I turned towards it. Taking a big breath, I charged with all I had at the door. The grand door burst open and I found Max slinging a leg over her marble balcony.

"What the hell do you think your doing Miss Ride?" I panted, out of breath, trying to have a smirk on my face.

"Nothing much, just running away, nothing better to do." She says with a small smile and drops off the balcony. Or at least she tries to, because just as she swings her other leg over and pushes off, I grab her wrist and hoist her back up into the room.

"I'm sorry Miss Ride, but as your teacher I can't let you do that," I say to her as I catch her eyes with a disapproving face. "I also can't let you do that, seeing as I'm your fiancée and completely and totally in love with you." I say with a grin. Max looks at me shocked, and before she can say anything I kiss her with a passionate fiery need so strong that I even shock myself a bit. At first Max tries to pull back from me, but then it's like our bodies are melting together, or like we are tied together by a silver cord.

"Nice to see that Fang is able to make a move." Iggy teases as Ari pulls Max and me apart.

"Dude, I don't care if you're marrying her. Keep your paws off my almost sister." Ari practically growls to me.

The others laugh, except for Zach who has a clouded and angry face. Suddenly Zach is charging at me and getting ready to throw a punch. I put my arms up in defence, but then Zach changes his mind and tackles me instead. There are gasps all around as Zach begins throwing punches at me as I try to get up.

"Why. Did. You. Have. To. Fall. In. Love. With. My. Max?" He yells as he finally manages to start pounding my face in. Iggy starts trying to pull Zach off, but Zach some how manages to shake him off. I've never seen Zach fight this strong, but as my face is getting cut and bruised, I have the feeling it won't be the last time. Ari and Iggy finally manage to pull Zach off me, and without them forcing him to, he storms out of the estate. Iggy looks at me in confusion.

"Fang, why didn't you beat the crap out of the brat?"

"Because it is something that I would have probably regretted later on," I sigh, getting up and wiping my mouth with the back of my hand. Max looks at Nudge, who rushes away, probably to get a first aid kit.

"Zach is young and confused. Just let it be." Dylan says, putting his hand on Ari's arm as Ari begins to walk out of the room, most likely to kill Zach.

**So it was a pretty short chapter… But the FAX has started! And you know, a different side of Fang was sort of seen! Anyways, Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah, and Merry Christmakah! **

**-JAMZD  
><strong>


	9. Chapter 9: Big Baby

**Arranged**

**So I haven't updated in awhile, but I've been busy! Anyways with school starting again, you can expect my updating habits to return! Also, my boyfriend and I recently began a blog and would love to have new subscribers; the site in an anonymous help blog, the URL is: ****.com/**

** And now, on with the long waited chapter! **

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Maximum Ride or any of its characters.**

**CLAIMER: I do own the plot and self made characters.**

Alright, so just to recap, Fang decided to call off our wedding, then came racing back, we made out, Zach tried to beat him to a pulp, and Ari is currently looking for Zach, most likely to kill him for interfering. Just one simple question, what the hell?

"Well that was interesting."

"If that was interesting then I think I would hate to see intriguing, Nudge." Fang complained while I wiped an antiseptic wipe over his face.  
>"Oh don't be such a baby; you're a freaking gang leader for God sakes." Nudge said, brushing him off.<p>

"Both of you stop, and Nudge, send someone after Ari so that he doesn't murder Zach." I commanded Nudge. She rolls her eyes and sets off to stop Ari.

"You know, we're all still here." Suzan calls jokingly from the hallway.

"Yeah, can we like, leave?" Laurel asks.

"Yeah, go right ahead and leave!" I holler while Fang winces in pain from the antiseptic. Everyone leaves, except for Iggy who is currently lounging on my bed.

"Nudge is right, you're a major baby. I mean, I've heard that you once took a blow to your stomach with a steel bat without even a wince."

"Yeah, well I softened up." Fang spits out.

"So you turned into a fatty?" I tease.

"Yo, Ride, just because you and him are all buddy-buddy, it doesn't mean that I won't still hate you." Iggy declares.

"Ig, cool it. She's just being her." Fang states as he winces again.  
>About an hour later Fang's face was patched up and iced. Iggy, Nudge, and a fuming Ari were all sitting on my bed talking about karaoke bars. Suddenly Nudge gasped and slapped Iggy. Fang burst out laughing.<p>

"Wow bro, what did you say to her?" Fang asks in between laughs as Nudge steames out of the room.

"I asked her if she would play around with another girl with me watching." Iggy says impassively, like it was a normal everyday question.

"Ig, that's a douche-like question, now gets out of my room." I say firmly to the perverted yet entertaining Iggy. Iggy sighs and pulls himself off the bed, probably to go bug Nudge again.

"Is it alright if I leave too? I mean, Fang is a Howler, but I doubt that he's going to strangle you in your own house." Ari states impassively.

"Yeah go ahead, Ari." I say tiredly.

"Right, see you later then." He says, getting off the bed and gliding out of the room.

And so there were two.  
><strong>Short chappie, I know. Don't kill me! I'm just in a state of mind where I'm not particularlay interested in this fic right now! I'm sorry! Also, my hands are spazzing and while I do the drafts of this they make a thousand typos! So I apologize, but I will NOT be posting good chapters for awhile. Keep reading though! And please review!<strong>

**-JAMZD  
><strong>


	10. Chapter 10: Homeroom

**Arranged**

**I'm back! I'm so stupidly sorry for being gone for so freaking long! I've just been going through a lot and I haven't had the time or mind to write any fanfiction. But now I'm back and writing!**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Maximum Ride or any of its characters.**

**CLAIMER: I do own the plot and self made characters.**

For the next while Max and I sat there just talking about everything. Max was lying on her chest and had her shirt rolled up in a way that some of her larger scars were exposed. I was tracing over them lightly with my fingers.

"Max, was marrying me really that terrible of an idea?"

"It used to be. That was before I got to know you better." She sighs; probably worried that Ari might be looking for Zach at this very moment.

"So now how do you feel about getting married?"

"I think it's crazy and insane that I'm marrying my homeroom teacher who thinks out loud all the time. But after I kind of got yelled at by Dylan this morning, I think that he's right and that this will probably be what I need to get back to being me." I smile at Max as she says this all softly.

"I don't think out loud all the time and I think that I'd like to get to know all sides to you, not just the old you or the depressed you."

"In all good time you will, Fang." Max says with a small smile as she closes her eyes and begins to fall asleep again, snoring softly. I look out the giant bay window and notice that the sun has set on the estate horizon and that the stars have lit up the night sky. Smiling, I look down at the sleeping Max. She looks so much younger when she is in this peaceful state and looks as though she hasn't got a single worry in the world. Still smiling I gazed at out intertwined hands and soon fell asleep as well in the giant bed.

The next morning I was woken up by Nina and Nudge charging into the room to get Max ready for school. Nudge looked a little surprised at first but Nina just smiled and beckoned for me to wait in the hallway. Out in the hall she told me that she had organized for Iggy to drop off my things and that I would ride to school with Max, Ari, and Nudge. I took this all in before going downstairs where I had been told I could get some breakfast as well as speak with Max's father. When I reached the dining room I was greeted by a slightly surprised looking James Ride.

"Fang Carter, may I ask you what you're doing here?" The Ride Chairman asks me with a cocked eyebrow. I smile slightly and explain the entire ordeal to him.

"So basically saying, Max and I have begun to properly court and are anticipating the wedding that is to take place in a year and a half without hesitation." I say with charm.

"Very good, this'll make your father very happy to know. Peace will finally be brought to both families." Chairman Ride says with a fatherly smile. "I do expect that you treat my daughter with the utmost respect though." Chairman Ride says with a fatherly tone in his voice. I chuckle and nod my head. I then had breakfast before going to ask one of the attending maids for the items that Iggy had dropped off for me. Afterwards I got ready for work and went upstairs to check on Max. I walked into her room just as she and Nudge finished arguing about whether Max's simple French twist was too elaborate or not and if Max could take it out. In the end Nudge won and continued to decorate her human doll. I laughed at the scene and they both spun around to look at me.

"Sorry girls, I was just checking if you were ready to leave yet."

"Ugh, we would be done if this betch would hurry up and let me finish her look."

"Nudge, I don't need a 'look', I'm fine looking like who I am." Max says, rolling her eyes.

"Mmhhmmm, okay, keep believing that girl; you just keep believing that." Nudge says, flipping her hair and continuing her work on Max. I laugh again and turn to leave.

"Wait, Fang—erm what are we going to do when we got the Willow Lark? Aren't people going to wonder why we are arriving together?" Max asks me. I grin since the idea had already crossed my mind and I had already figured it out.

"Don't worry, Love. I've got it all figured out." I say with a smirk as I close the door behind me and walk downstairs to meet up with Ari. Downstairs Ari and I wait at the doors for Nudge and Max.

"So…how exactly are you only a year older than me and a teacher at Willow Lark?" Ari asks suddenly.

"I was home schooled and learned at an accelerated rate. My dad pulled some strings and I went to college when I should have been starting high school. I got my teachers degree and then my dad pulled a few more strings to get me the job at Willow Lark."

"Oh." Ari says as the girls walk down the stairs, still arguing about Max's appearance. Ari pinches the bridge of his nose. "Nudge, Max, shut up. Max you look great, and Nudge, she looks fine without highly pigmented eye shadows. Now get in the car." Ari states as he points to the doors. Nudge and Max look at him for a moment and then shrug and do as he said. I chuckle as Ari and I follow after them to the awaiting limo.

The drive to Willow Lark was short and everyone talked the entire time. As we rolled through the gates though, the chatter stopped and Max looked nervously out the window. As the limo stopped at the front entrance of the school I climbed out and walked around to the other side where I helped Max out of the car and snaked my arm around her waist, getting at least 20 shocked looks from other students and one or two staff members. I just grinned and walked with Max like that all the way to class.

"Fang, what the hell are you doing?" Max hissed as we neared the homeroom door.

"Perusing my plan, don't worry." I say with a smirk. Max looks worried anyways. We then enter the homeroom where the rest of class is already hanging out and waiting for class to start. I look at the wall clock and realize that we were 2 minutes late. I shrug it off and do a quick scope of the room, everyone's here.

"Mr. Carter, why is your arm around Max's waist?" Asks a curious student, Lucy I think.

"Yeah, Mr. Carter what are you doing?" Asks another curious student, Derek I think. Then I hear a snort from the second desk three rows down the front.

"Can't you all tell that he's being a total pedophile?" Zach sneers. Max glares at him and I just sigh.

"Zach, shut the hell up." Derek says. Zach rolls his eyes and leans back in his chair.

"Okay everyone; settle down, I've got an announcement." I say in a teacher-like voice. "The truth is Max and I am engaged due to an arranged marriage that was settled at Max's birth. Yesterday we began courting, or as you would say it, dating. In other words, Max is my girlfriend but I am still your teacher. Not to worry, she won't be getting special treatment."

The entire class was looking at me with glazed eyes.

"We don't believe you." Connie, one of the more effervescent students says loudly.

"Yeah, prove it." Connie's friend, Lindsey jeers. Suddenly the room erupted in requests to prove it. I shrugged and decided to seize this chance. I quickly spun Max to face me.

"Fang, what are you doing? There's a ton of people here." Max hisses.

"Max, you're going to be my wife in half a year, deal with it." I say quickly. Then I hoist Max up so that she's at my height level and kiss her full on the lips. I hear a round of gasps from around the room and then the scraping of a chair. Next thing I know Zach is tearing me from Max and throwing a punch at my face.

"Zach, stop it!" Max cries.

"No, Max, this ass isn't good enough for someone like you," Zach sneers as he starts pounding my face in. I let him though, so that he can get his frustration out. That and I'd loose my job if I injured him. Then Derek pulls Zach off of me and Max rushes over with the first aid kit. First though she looks at the class with very serious eyes.

"Everyone, we ask that you keep this all a secret until Fang manages to negotiate something with the W.L Chairman." Everyone nods in agreement to Max's request and so she begins fixing up my bleeding face.

**There we go people. Another chapter to Arranged and hopefully there will be another one coming soon. Yeah, I noticed that Zach really enjoys punching Fang's face in. Oh well.**

**-JAMZD**


	11. Chapter 11: Whiskey and Cake

**Arranged**

**Got some awesome reviews, love you guys! ^_^ here's chappie 11, enjoy.**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Maximum Ride or any of its characters.**

**CLAIMER: I do own the plot and self made characters.**

I only glanced at Zach as he raced out of the classroom after Derek practically ripped him off Fang. I could tell that the entire class was shocked, not only by the fact that I was engaged to our homeroom teacher but also that Zach had done such a thing. I cursed Zach under my breath as I cleaned up Fang's face with the antiseptic wipes. Once again he was acting like a big baby.

"Max, is there anything you want us to get for Fan—erm, Mr. Carter?" Derek asks me after putting his hand on my shoulder.

"Yeah, could you send Beth to the nurse's office with Connie to get a roll of bandaging and a liquid ice pack?" I ask, still wiping the blood off of Fang's face, most of it was coming from his busted up lip. Derek nods his head and sends Connie and Beth off.

"Ah, crap. Can't you just be a bit less forceful?" Fang winces as he hisses in pain.

"Don't be such a baby, and I'm barely touching you, dope."

"Couldn't you at least give me something to numb it?"

"Like what?"

"I don't know!" Fang yells out frustrated. I smirk and keep on wiping up the blood and disinfecting the cuts that Zach's rings had left on his face.

"I don't think that yelling like that will do any good." Lucy says, peering over my shoulder. Fang stares at her.

"Lucy head over to the staff room and tell the attendant I sent you, and get me a damned bottle of whiskey." Fang says in a teacher voice.

"Uh, Mr. Carter, are you sure the attendant will give it to me?" Lucy asks.

"Hand me your phone." Fang says to Lucy, rolling his eyes. Lucy furrows her brows and hands him her phone. Fang flips through the apps, still wincing from the antiseptic I was still cleaning his face with. He finally finds what he was looking for and hits the record button.

"Yo, attendant! Give Lucy the whiskey so I can get some alcohol on this bitch!" Fang yells at the phone frustrated. He then stops the recording and hands Lucy back her phone. "There, play the video for the attendant." Lucy nods with her saucer eyes and races out of the room.

"Was that really necessary?" I ask Fang as I take the polysporin and begin rubbing it on the small cuts from Zach's rings.

"Course it was, seeing as you won't stop attacking my face with that crap." Fang complains. I cock my eyebrow at him and flick his head just as Connie and Beth return with the bandaging and ice pack. Beth hands it all to me and Connie goes to join the other students in their gossip-pack.

"Thanks Beth." I say as I start cutting the bandaging into small strips with a pair of scissors from the first aid kit and then use the medical tape to plaster the bandaging strips on the small cuts. Then I hand Fang the liquid ice pack for his black eye. I look at his face and sigh; the other teachers would be wondering how he got his face so messed up.

"What?" Fang asks annoyed as I study his face. Brushing his question off I look around the classroom for a girl with a similar olive skin tone.

"Hey Lindsey, do you have your make up bag with you?" I holler at her from across the room. She looks at me as if I just asked her the dumbest question possible.

"Of course I do, why?"

"Because I need to cover up this idiot's bruises courtesy of Zach," I say, cocking my head to the side at Fang. Lindsey nods and tosses me her make up bag. I catch the bag and begin the tedious task of covering up the bruises on Fang's face. By the time I was done Fang looked good as new and homeroom was just about over. Fang finally stood up and called for the class to take their seats (except for me, I was forced to sit on his lap as he sat at his big mahogany desk).

"Alright class, we've all had a rather interesting homeroom and managed to get no work done. So, I'll be posting the lesson on the class website and the work is due Monday." Fang said just as the homeroom bell rang, blocking out the moans and groans from the class. As usual I waited for the crowds to pass before I left the room for my next class. Fang caught the back of my shirt just as I was leaving and looked at me with his obsidian eyes.

"Thank you, Max." He says curtly before letting go of my shirt and turning towards the opened laptop on his desk. I smile and quickly leave the room, heading towards my next class.

* * *

><p>The rest of the morning passed quickly and then I found myself headed to the cafeteria to meet up with Nudge. Before I managed to get through the cafeteria doors though I was caught by two strong arms that pulled me into the shadows.<p>

"Don't freak, Max, I just want to talk." Zach said as he guided me to a deserted stairwell. I took a few deeps breaths and counted to 10 in my head to prevent myself from castrating him right there in the middle of the lunch period. He finally let go of me as we entered the deserted stairwell.

"Okay, start talking." I snarled with crossed arms. Zach sighs.

"I'm sorry for freaking out this morning and for leaving Scarlet Wind without telling anyone about anything. But what I said was true, Max. Fang isn't good enough for you."

"And what makes you think that you are?"

"Nothing does, Max; because I know that I'm not. I do know that I love you like crazy and that you love me too, or at least that's what you told me."

"Zach, Fang is more than good enough for me. Not only because he isn't a coward but also because he is who he is, not who his parents want him to be. Zach, we were kids, we didn't know what love meant to the full extent, and plus, I said that before you walked out of my life and left my to succumb to my inner demons." I said flatly. Zach was obviously hurt by what I said.

"Can we at least be friends?" Zach asks meekly.

"Learn to control your temper and know when you're wanted around, and I'll consider it." I say tight lipped before turning to leave. I stop at the door with my back turned to Zach, "goodbye, Zach".

I then raced through the halls back to the cafeteria to meet up with Nudge. When I got to the cafeteria I was surprised to find Ari, Iggy, and Fang sitting at a table with Nudge, the 3 of them just chatting away. I gave Nudge a questioning look as she met my eyes; she just shrugged and gave me a goofy grin. I then proceeded to the line where I ordered my lunch quickly and went to go take a seat at the table with everyone.

"Nice of you to join us, Maxie, what took you so long?" Ari says using the nickname I hate with everything I have.

"Erm—I was talking to Zach." I say as I begin eating. Fang becomes rigid and Nudge's eyes widen.

"What were you doing talking to the brat after the stunt he pulled?" Iggy asks me, obviously having heard about this morning.

"He caught me on my way to lunch and said he wanted to talk." I say, shrugging. I glance over and notice Fang giving me a quick scan to make sure I'm alright. I just shrug and keep eating.

"Oh so Max did you really do that makeup job on Fang?" Nudge asks me, trying to lighten the suddenly darkened mood of the group.

"Yeah, it was pretty simple."

"Are you kidding? You can't even notice anything!" Nudge exclaims, giving my shoulder a little nudge.

"Well I have watched you do my makeup for the past 6 years, so I've had plenty of time to learn." I say, shovelling another spoon full of wild rice with cranberries into my mouth.

The rest of the lunch period passed by quickly and soon Iggy and Ari had to go back to the college campus for their own courses. Fang, Nudge, and I all walked to class together since Nudge and I had French right after lunch. We got there early and ended up just hanging out till a few other students got there. I was surprised to notice that Derek and Lucy were in this class as well.

French class passed quickly and so did the rest of the day. By the time the final bell had rung I was bored out of my mind and Nudge was ready to head home and do her nails. Nudge, Ari, and I were met at the gates by Dylan, Laurel, J.J., Suzan, and Jared. They ended up inviting us to this new cake buffet 2 blocks away from Willow Lark.

* * *

><p>The evening with the Scarlet Winders was fun and reminded me of old times. By the time Nudge, Ari, and I got back to the estate we had just made it in for curfew and we were surprised to find that Fang and his family were there waiting for a meeting with my father, with me included.<p>

**Ended it there so that I have somewhere interesting to start off with next chapter! Hope you enjoyed and keep reading! Reviews please!**

**-JAMZD  
><strong>


	12. Chapter 12: Pianos and Swimming

**Arranged**

**Hey everyone! Sorry I didn't update yesterday, had to go shopping for something to wear to a family party at some fancy restaurant. Anyways, I loved the reviews I got so here's the next chapter!**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Maximum Ride or any of its characters.**

**CLAIMER: I do own the plot and self made characters.**

As soon as I had gotten home today I was confronted by my ecstatic strawberry blonde mother and my usually impassive father. They had gotten wind of Max's and my courtship and were buzzing with excitement that the plan was going better than expected all those years ago.

"Oh Fang, this is so great!" My mother squealed.

"Yes, this is quite good." My father said calmly, though one could tell that on the inside he was just as excited as my mother. "Now, please go to your room as to prepare for tonight. There will be attendants waiting for you." My father said curtly before linking arms with my mother and walking off to who-knows-where. Slightly confused I shrugged it off anyways and did as directed. As soon as I entered my room I was greeted by a group of attendants.

"Good afternoon, Young Master." They all said in unison. "Please allow us to prepare you." They finished with a small bow.

"You all know that you don't have to call me that." I said slightly annoyed. The attendants ignored me and began to tediously work on getting me ready for god-knows-what-my-father-has-planned. About an hour later the attendants were ushering me downstairs where I was met by my parents who then explained to me that we were on our way to the Ride Estate. I cocked my eyebrow at them as to ask why, but then only smiled and walked to the limo waiting outside.

The ride to the Ride estate was silent and only consisted of a few happy glances between my parents. It would have taken a professional to decipher what they were saying through those simple glances. I rolled my eyes at them and stared blankly out the window. I mean, what could they possibly want so badly that they'd go to the Ride Estate? When we finally pulled up in front of the estate we were greeted by Nina who guided us to the front foyer where my parents quickly began talking with Max's mother and father. It wasn't long after we arrived that Max, Nudge, and Ari walked through the doors.

"What's going on?" Max asked confused.

"Nudge, Nina, please take Max to her room to quickly prepare." Chairman Ride said curtly, completely ignoring Max's question. Nudge and Nina nodded as they began guiding the confused Max up the grand stairs.

"Chairman Ride, is my assistance needed?" Ari asks, eyeing my parents.

"No, not at all; you are dismissed for the evening, Ari." Max's father says with a small smile. Ari gives a small bow and quickly strides out of the foyer towards his chambers. Once he was out of earshot my parents and Max's parents once again begin speaking in hushed tones. Fifteen minutes later Max came down the stairs to join us.

"Ah, here is my future daughter in-law." My mother squeals in excitement as she takes in the site of Max is a simple off the shoulder peach coloured dress. Max's hair was down and she only had some soft natural looking makeup on her face.

"Now that my daughter had joined us, let's begin the meeting." Max's mother says kindly. Everyone (except Max and I) nod eagerly and we all walk into the main living room. Once in the room my father eyes the grand piano. Noticing this, Max's father asks her to play us a piece. Max nods politely and takes a seat at the piano. I'm shocked to find that the music coming from the piano is probably the most beautiful music I've heard in years. Max just sits there playing swiftly, seeming lost in her music. I was quite surprised since I had no idea that the gang leader, the heiress, the crazy girl I'm engaged to—was trained in playing something as elegant as the piano. Guess she had a dirty little secret.

"Max has been playing the piano since she was 5." Max's mother says with admiration.

"My, my, Cecilia, it's absolutely beautiful!" My mother exclaims happily.

"Why thank you, Edith. We only expect the best of our daughter." Chairman Ride says thanking my mother for the compliment she gave his wife.

"Our Fang has been in competitive swimming since he was 11." My father boasts. My eyes widen at the sudden revelation and Max stops for a quarter of a second before continuing in her soft playing.

"We'll have to watch him someday, Frank." Chairman Ride says to my boasting father.

"Well don't you have an Olympic size pool, James?" My father asks Chairman Ride.

"Oh yes, that's right, and I'm sure that Fang could borrow a pair of trunks and goggles from our extras." Chairman Ride—erm James, says.

"Oh no need, we could just call Iggy to send over Fang's training bag." My mother says happily. No sooner was that said that she was on her phone calling Iggy. Cecilia giggled and the two fathers chuckled. Max finished off her piece and took a seat beside me on the overstuffed leather couch. Once my mother was off the phone the parents resumed talking about just about anything while Max and I sat there shooting each other a mix of confused glances, smirks, and grins. I soon learned that Max had taken ballet when she was younger and chuckled lightly. She then learned that I had been in the math Olympics in grade school, Max nearly died laughing. Turns out we both had our secrets.

"Sorry to intrude, but Iggy dropped this off." Nudge said politely from the grand archway as she held out my training bag. All the parents looked up at her suddenly. With a smile my mother got up and took it from her, thanking her quickly. Nudge shrugged and walked back to whatever she had been doing.  
>"Time for Fang to swim for his future in-laws," Max teased me as we were walking to the pool. Luckily we were behind the parents as we walked to the pool since I'm sure they would have disapproved of me slapping Max's ass. When I did though, Max's reaction was priceless. Her eyes became the size of planets and she had to use both hands to muffle her yelp.<p>

"Hmm…guess those years of ballet paid off." I said with a smirk as Max fumed at me. Max shot daggers at my through her eyes and then jumped on my back. I grinned and carried her like that the rest of the way to the pool. Once we got there our parents looked at us with questioning looks but shook it off upon seeing Max and I grinning. My mother then handed me my training bag and I went to the little changing area to get changed out of the ridiculous Armani suit and into my training shorts. A few minutes later I stepped out with my shorts and swim cap on, with goggles in hand. Max muffled a laugh but I only ignored her as I jogged to the deep end of the pool, getting ready to show them my best stroke.

**Left off there so I have somewhere to start off with next chapter! Looks like Max and Fang both had their own little secrets that they would have preferred not come to light. And we still haven't found out why the Carter's were visiting the Ride estate! Personally it looks like a pissing contest so far (as is both parents are boasting about their children as to seem more impressive, not literally a pissing contest) Oh well, review and keep reading!**

**-JAMZD  
><strong>


	13. Chapter 13: 3 in the morning

**Arranged**

**Hey everyone! Sorry I didn't update quickly! But now that school has started again along with my training I won't get much time to write, so here is the chapter you've been waiting for! Oh and, _Serenaisbestezrq387_, thank you so so much for following my stories and I'm sorry that I've yet to reveal the reason as to why the Carters are visiting the Rides, but it'll definitely be revealed in this chapter! **

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Maximum Ride or any of its characters.**

**CLAIMER: I do own the plot and self made characters.**

The past 45 minutes or so had been passed with my parents and Fang's parents having a pissing contest, why this occurred, I have no idea. I was lost in my thoughts till a small splash from the deep end of the pool caught my attention. I looked over just in time to see Fang rising out of the water with one of his arms whipping back almost gracefully as he began a steady lap of freestyle. It was a wonder to see how amazingly he moved through the water and how cleanly his hands sliced in before flicking out the back. I was lost in the moment of watching him when Chairman Car—erm, Frank, clasps my shoulder in what was probably meant to be friendly.

"It's amazing to watch, isn't it?" He asked me in complete adoration of his son. I nod slightly and watch Fang do his flip-turn before continuing the lap. I can feel Fang's dad smiling at both me and his son for the rest of the lap. A few minutes later Fang joins us out on deck again with his swim cap and goggles off and his hair sticking out everywhere. I laugh to myself at how his normally perfectly messy hair now looked like he had gotten electrocuted. The parents, Fang, and I continued some small talk before Fang finally asked the question I had been itching to ask myself all night.

"So uh, why are we here tonight?" Fang asked, catching the parents off guard. The two fathers looked at each other and nodded while our mothers grinned from ear to ear.

"Since everything has been going so well between you two in the past few days, James, Edith, Cecilia, and I have decided to not only bump up the wedding but have you two living together in the private mansion that has been getting built since Max's 3rd birthday." Fang's dad said contently. Our mothers squealed in joy while Fang and I gapped.

"Of course the mansion will have maids, butlers, and a cook hired already but we are also allowing Ari, Iggy, and Nudge to join you two at the new mansion." My father said this time with a warm smile.

"W…what, when was this decided, when are we moving!" I asked bewildered. Fang nodded at my question in agreement.

"Well it was decided yesterday of course! Oh and you'll be moving in tonight!" Edith said happily to Fang and I. We turned to look at each other with the same gaping expressions. I mean, live together? I'm only in high school for crying out loud! Then again, this is the decision of both the Carter and Ride family, so of course it's insane.

"So basically, we're all gathered here tonight so that you both can see and learn about a few of each other's talents and so that we could give you the news." My mother says happily but much more calmly than Edith had.

The next few hours were spent with discussing the plans of the now bumped up wedding that would happen over the summer break and moving into the new mansion. By the time all the plans were settled I had a major head ache and was ready to stab the next person that said 'dress' or 'bedroom'. Oh yeah, forgot to mention, Fang and I would be sharing a freaking bedroom. I mean I love Fang and all, but really? Was that necessary? He's still my homeroom teacher for god's sake! I'm really beginning to wonder if our parents ever sneak drugs when Fang and I aren't around.

Finally at around 2 in the morning the movers had finished moving everything into the mansion including Nudge, Ari, and Iggy's things so we were ready to all drive over. It was too dark to make out the features of the mansion as our limo made it up the long and winding driveway but I could hear water trickling as soon as we stepped out which told me that there was either a spring or a fountain of some sort on the property.

"I can't believe they did this without telling us first." Fang whispered to me as our mothers took us on a quick tour of the house. I had yet to see Iggy, Nudge, or Ari but had the feeling they had already settled in.

"Ugh, I know. I bet they were drunk when they decided this." I whispered back, rolling my eyes.

"And here we have the library or sitting room. The book shelves have been filled with classics, poetry, and all of your favourites." My mom suddenly gushed as she threw open the doors to a quaint and cozy little room with a giant bean bag next to the huge window which overlooked what I suspected was the garden. I had the immediate feeling that this would be one of my favourite rooms. Before I could say anything about the room the tour continued on quickly. By around 3 in the morning our parents were heading out the door before Fang and I could get in a word of protest. Fang sighed heavily as the heavy mahogany front doors shut in our faces.

"Thank god tomorrows Saturday." Fang said pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Oh yeah…So who gets the bed?" Fang cocked an eyebrow at my question.

"Well Max, we are living with each other and due to be married in the summer. We've also sort of already proclaimed our love for each other, so I guess it would only make sense if we shared the bed." Fang said matteroffactly.

"B…but I'm technically still a minor! This is illegal! You're my homeroom teacher! Double illegalness!" I started spazzing. Okay so what? I'm nervous to live with Fang let alone sleep in the same bed with him! Who knows what freaky hormones course through him?

"You're seriously choosing now to bring up the law, Ms. Gang Leader?" Fang asked me, completely unimpressed. I slightly glared at him with a stumped expression.

"Iggy, Nudge, and Ari will hear us."

"Who says we would do anything? We're sharing the bed to sleep, not have sex. Jeez Max, and you say I have the dirty mind?" Fang teased. I blushed scarlet and stormed off to the bedroom. I could hear Fang walked casually behind me to the giant bedroom which we would have to share. As soon as I flung the room's doors open I stomped over to my walk-in closet and stared digging around for my favourite oversized band tee. So what? An heiress/gang leader can't wear such things to bed? I could feel Fang's eyes on me as I began to change so I whipped around to face him.

"Get your perverted ass out of this room so I can change." I commanded.

"Max, again, we're going to be married and we both already love each other so hurry up and get it over with." Fang said with a smirk.

"Fine, you want to get it over with?"

"Yep, especially since tomorrows Saturday and there isn't any school." Fang snorted confidently. Swallowing my next rather rude comment I began to unzip the side of my dress. Fang stares at me wide-eyed and continues like so as I let the dress fall to the floor. He then gaped at me in my half naked glory.

"You said you wanted to get it over with, so buck up and let's get going, Mr. Carter." Fang nearly died at my last comment.

"Max, this isn't what I meant." Fang said, swallowing.

"Are you sure about that, Mr. Carter? Because I'm pretty sure that your friend downstairs is saying otherwise." I said with a smirk. I watched Fang's nervous eyes scan over me again as his cheeks flushed deep red.

"Are you completely sure you want to do this, Max?" Fang asked me.

"Nope, which is why I'm doing it now." Fang frowned a bit at that but nodded his head. And so then it began. A night, or should I say morning, of firsts.

**Sorry the chapter was like that! I've just kind of run out of ideas at the moment and I'm winging it! I hope you keep reading and of course review! I'll try to update faster too! By the way, it would be a lot to me if you guys checked out my Tumblr, j a g g e d j u l i a x 3 (.) t u m b l r (.) c o m Take out the spaces and the brackets!**

**-JAMZD  
><strong>


	14. Chapter 14: Mood pills and Band Tees

**Arranged**

**Yummy, got some awesome reviews for the last chapter. I love you all SO much, so thanks a bajillion for following, reading, and reviewing my craptastic writing! I hope you keep reading and loving my fanfics and I'd especially like to thank the readers who've been with me since I started writing my first Maximum Ride fanfic, Sometimes. You guys inspire me everyday when I wake up and find a new review or that I've been added to someone's favourites list. Thank you so much. No on to the chapter!**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Maximum Ride or any of its characters.**

**CLAIMER: I do own the plot and self made characters.**

By the time I woke up it was already midday and I was in an unfamiliar room. I looked around before my eyes finally saw what was beside me, a very naked and asleep Max. My eyes instantly turned to saucers as I closely re-examined the room and then myself. Then it all flooded back. I had had sex with Max. My student, my fiancée, and judging by the hurry I remember us being in last night, maybe the mother of my child. Holy friggin' shit. I pinched the bridge of my nose and cursed myself for being so reckless and was just about to get out of the bed and get dressed when Max stirred out of her sleep.

"Hmm…morning, Fang," Max said sleepily, "how'd you sleep?" she asked me through a yawn.

"Just fine, what about you?" I asked almost nervously.

"Mmm…I slept amazingly and I feel so…loose." Max said while stretching, a happily content smile spreading across her face as she felt the midday sun hit her bare body from the giant bay window in the bedroom. Luckily the bed sheets had somehow managed to stay over her while she did this.

"So, do you remember what happened after the parents left?" I asked nervously.

"Yep, we had sex." Max stated with a silly grin. I was confused by this since I was sure she'd be furious with me. Then my eyes drifted to the pill bottle that had somehow made its way to one of the bedside tables, it was a bottle of mood pills of some sort. I then turned back to Max and noticed that she did in fact have one of my old band tees on.

"Max, did you take one of those pills?"

"No, of course not, Fangy," I sighed in relief at her saying this, unfortunately I was quickly worried again since she said, "I took 4!" while clumsily holding up one hand with only three fingers up. I silently cursed myself again and then face palmed. Max gasped. "No, Fangy, don't hurt yourself! I…I…I woke up real early to make myself all sexy for you but…but then I realized how nervous I was so I took those pills…they tasted funny." Max said with a pout, somewhat looking like a 5 year old.

"Max, please just sleep those pills off. I'm going for a jog with Iggy." I say, shaking my head as I slip out of bed and slip on my abandoned pair of pants on the floor. Before nearing the door I grab the pill bottle

"Okay." Max giggled like crazy as I left the room. I made my way downstairs where I was met by Ari, Iggy, and Nudge in the dining room. They were all eating breakfast and chattering away. When they saw my probably frazzled look they all went silent.

"Dude, what happened?" Iggy asked me through a mouth full of pancakes.

"Max and I had sex…then she woke up and took like 4 of these pills." I say, completely ignoring the shocked looks and toss the bottle to Ari. "Do you know anything about these?" Ari catches the bottle and quickly studies the labels.

"Oh, these are Max's stress pills. Her doctor prescribed them to her about a year ago. She's supposed to take them when she's feeling stressed and can't handle it. If she only took 4 then she should be fine, just a little whacky. Let her sleep them off for a bit." Ari says simply, while setting the bottle on the table.

"Excuse me, but did you just say you had sex with Max?" Nudge exclaimed, just waiting to hear all about it.

"Long story, leave it be." I say impassively as I begin to eat stuff off the various serving plates on the table. Nudge pouts at me.

"But you gotta tell me." She whined.

"I ain't gotta tell nothin'" I mumble messily through a mouth full of cereal. Aren't I just charming?

"Fine, be that way. I'll just ask Max when she isn't all loopy." Nudge says. I shrug and continue eating my cereal. After that Iggy and I go on a jog around the property. It was actually pretty amazing looking, to be honest. Morning jogs with Iggy are normally pretty silent, but this morning Iggy broke the silence.

"So, what was it like?"

"What was what like?"

"You know damn well what I'm talking about."

"…well to be honest, it was freaking amazing." I say with a grin.

"Then why the worried face?"

"I'm not 100% sure that I remembered the safety net." I say sheepishly. Iggy just about trips over his own feet when I say this.

"Holy shit, Fang! Ari's going to murder you if he finds out you might've gotten Max pregnant at this age! She is practically his little sister!" Iggy exclaimed, hitting me upside the head.

"I know, I know. That's why I'm so worried." After that the job continued in silence. When we finally got back to the house I found Nudge on the phone, Ari lifting weights, and couldn't find Max. Iggy left me to go take a shower to I decided to look for Max. I wandered the halls of the giant house, or should I say mansion, before I finally found Max in the library, sitting in the bean bag chair by the bay window with her face buried in a novel. I watched her for awhile and smiled to myself at her complete look of serenity. Maybe having a kid with her now wouldn't be so bad.

"Hey, Fang," Max says suddenly, shaking me out of my daze. I look at her to find that she's put the book down and also changed out of my band tee and into a pair of her skinnies and a flowery blouse.

"Hey…" I say, slowly entering the room. "You feelin' better now?"

"Yeah, thanks for letting me sleep off the pills." Max says with a smile.

"But you still remember what happened, right?"

"You mean us having crazy, passionate sex?" Max asks with a smirk.

"Yeah, no need to exaggerate."

"So did you enjoy it?"

"Of course I did, I love you, Max." Me saying this catches Max off guard.

"I love you too, Fang." She says with a warm smile before going back to her book.

**Awww okay, kinda sucked but I guess it was sweet at the end! I'll try to update soon! Review and keep reading!**

**-JAMZD  
><strong>


	15. Chapter 15: Texting Dylan and Tanning

**Arranged**

**So lovies, here is your chapter. Sorry if it sucks but I hope you love it anyways xD**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Maximum Ride or any of its characters.**

**CLAIMER: I do own the plot and self made characters.**

_ Max: So…Yeah…Erm…Yeah…Fang and I kind of had crazy sex at 3 in the morning and well, we can't remember if protection was used or not. Yep, I'm screwed. _

_ Dylan: Say what? When? WHAT? Max, he's your homeroom teacher! Jesus Christ!_

_ Max: He's also my fiancée… _

_ Dylan: Don't give me that bullshit!...what was it like?_

_ Max: …_

_ Dylan: Don't you leave me hanging!_

_ Max: Well, erm…!_

_ Dylan: What the hell was that? O.O_

_ Max: IDK! T_T_

_ Dylan: !_

_ Max: Fine. It was crazy, passionate, and dirty._

_ Dylan: OMFG! But Max, it was your first time!_

_ Max: I'm joking T_T_

_ Dylan: Oh…._

_ Max: Gtg, Fang's back._

_ Dylan: Kk, bye bebz._

I quickly shut off my phone and picked up a random book as Fang stands in the doorway of the library. Thankfully I'd already changed out of his oversized band tee and into my own clothes.

"Hey, Fang," I say, shaking him out of his daze.

"Hey…" Fang says, slowly entering the room. "You feelin' better now?"

"Yeah, thanks for letting me sleep off the pills." I say with a smile.

"But you still remember what happened, right?" Fang asks me with a bit of a concerned tone in his voice.

"You mean us having crazy, passionate sex?" I jokingly ask with a smirk.

"Yeah, no need to exaggerate."

"So did you enjoy it?"

"Of course I did, I love you, Max."Fang saying this catches me off guard.

"I love you too, Fang." I say with a smile before going back to my book. Apparently I was reading "Hush, Hush" by Becca Fitzpatrick.

"Interesting book cover…" Fang says with a bit of a smirk as he sits beside me on the giant bean bag. I flip the book around to look at the cover and my eyes widen at the picture of the rather sexy looking fallen angel.

"Yeah, the picture reminds me of someone." I say with a grin as I think about how Fang looks like the guy on the book cover. Fang cocks an eyebrow at me and first gazes into my eyes, and then his eyes drift to the few visible scars on my arms. Self consciously I wrap my arms around myself as to hide them. Fang frowns at me and then without saying a word he unwraps my arms and kisses every scar.

"Max, I never want you to have to go through that pain ever again. I'm sorry I wasn't there before, but I'm here now." Fang says with such deep sorrow in his eyes that I can feel a few tears of my own brimming. After that we ended up hugging for what seemed like a comforting eternity. We were soon disturbed though by Iggy knocking on the library door.

"The brat is here to see you both." Iggy says coldly at the thought of Zach. Fang's eyes harden and his arms around me loosen as he hauls himself up. I follow suit and we end up walking briskly behind Iggy to the front foyer where a very bedraggled looking Zach is waiting.  
>"What do you want?" Fang asks curtly, catching me off guard with the poison that was practically dripping off every word.<p>

"I'm here to call peace." Zach says impassively, though from years of knowing him I can tell that he was ready to run out screaming.

"We don't want or need your peace."

"As Max's friend I think you do."

"Max doesn't need a friend like you."

"And she needs one like you?"

"I'm her fiancée."

"And her homeroom teacher—how sick."

"That may be true, but I might also be the father of her child."

Fang saying that makes Zach practically choke on his own words. My eyes widen at this as well.

"You had sex with her? Fang what the hell is wrong with you!" Zach suddenly bursts out. I stop Fang before he can say anything back.

"Yes Zach, we had sex and I loved every minute of it. In fact, I'm the one that started it. Now if you're done here, which I think you are, please leave." I say curtly before spinning around and leaving the room so that I wouldn't see the hurt in Zach's eyes. I just let my feet guide me around the unfamiliar mansion and I somehow found myself in the garden where Nudge was sun tanning, not like she needed to. As she heard me approach her she sits up and flips her sunglasses up.

"Hun, you look like shit."

"Feel like it too thanks."

"Was that Zach I heard in the foyer?"  
>"Yep."<p>

"Want me to call the Winders over?"

"No, it'll probably send them on a killing rampage."

"After who, the Howler leader you just had sex with or the ex almost boyfriend that abandoned you like the little coward he is?"

"Ugh, probably both." I say, face palming myself before plopping down on the other side of the huge recliner-pool-deck-chair-thing next to Nudge. After saying that Nudge and I just lay there in silence for the rest of the afternoon. Luckily my half of the recliner was in the shade so I didn't get any weird tan lines from my clothes. Nudge on the other hand had forgotten to flip on her back and now her front had darkened down a lot and she probably wouldn't be able to wear a strapless shirt without showing off the tan lines from the bikini she was wearing.

Later that night we all sat at dinner silently, very little conversation was passed around but it was actually a comfortable silence.

**Okay so it's really short, I apologize! Anyways review please!**

**-JAMZD  
><strong>


	16. Chapter 16: Shocked and Speachless

**Arranged**

**So it's been longer than just awhile since I last posted, but yeah, I've been...well actually, I haven't been busy, just, confused and hating life. Okay, so here is your chapter, enjoy the craptastic-ness.**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Maximum Ride or any of its characters.**

**CLAIMER: I do own the plot and self made characters.**

It's been about 3 weeks since Zack showed up at our mansion and much to our distress, Max is 16 and pregnant, how cliché. She started showing the symptoms about 10 days after that one rather interesting morning and since then I've woken up to the pleasure of hearing her barfing her guts out in our attached bathroom. On the bright side her boobs have gotten bigger, the downside to that are her raging hormones (mainly those of irritability) and the fact that she has to pee every 15 minutes. To be honest, we haven't even bothered to have Max take a test since it's so insanely obvious that she's pregnant, she even has a mini baby bump (seeing as she is almost 4 weeks). In about a month I'll have to hire Max a private tutor since she'll start showing more as well as tell the Howls and Winders about this all. Luckily, our parents already know and have decided to keep their mouths shut.

"Fang, I want chocolate!" Max whines from the main living room where Nudge is painting her nails on this lazy Sunday afternoon.

"Coming right up, Max." I holler back as I walk towards the kitchen and begin searching through the pantry for Max's latest favourite, marbled chocolate, where I find Ari talking to someone on the phone.

"Hey, Fang, when are you going to start taking Max to the doctor?" He asks me, with his hand over the phone.

"Uh, tomorrow, after school I believe."

"Oh, okay, Nina just wanted to know." Ari says before going back to his conversation with Max's childhood nanny. Then Iggy parades into the kitchen with a stupid grin on his face.

"Hai dere, Fangy-poo." Iggy slurs.

"Ig, are you high or something?"

"Haha, I don't know…but it was some crazay party last night." Iggy slurs once more. I turn to Ari.

"Ari, when you're done on the phone can you give this dunce some advil and then send him up to bed?" I ask after rolling my eyes, Ari nods. Then I walk out of the kitchen to my lady in waiting. When I get there Nudge had just finished putting the top coat on Max's toes and Max had flipped the channel on the flat screen to the movie, The Back-up Plan.

"Yay, thank you, babe." Max says happily as she grabs the chocolate out of my hands and yanks me down on the couch beside her where she proceeds to cuddle with me.

"No problem. So, do you have all your homework done?" I ask, knowing that she's been a little behind in work lately. Max's eyebrows furrow.

"Yes, now stop talking about school."

"Sorry, I'm just a little stressed since you know, you're pregnant with my child."

"Pfft; and whose fault is that?"

"Hmm…I don't know; why don't we watch the security tape?" I ask jokingly as I nuzzle my face into Max's hair. Then we just sat there watching the movie. I couldn't help but wonder if Max would also get that attached to a freaking body pillow, because lets face it, I'm not exactly a marshmallow.

"Fang, what're we going to do when I reach 3 months and really start showing, I mean, won't I have to leave school?" Max asks me suddenly.

"Well, to be honest, in about a month you'll have to leave school, at least that's what I've gathered from my research. And don't worry; I've already started looking for a private tutor so you can keep up with your school work."

"Can't you stay home with me?"

"No, sorry, I'm still a teacher." I sigh.

"Oh, can Nudge stay home with me?"

"I don't know, I guess. Ask her for yourself." I say just as Nudge walks into the room.

"Ask me what?" She asks as she plops down on the other side of the couch next to Max.

"If you can stay home with me for the next gruelling 37 weeks of my life and entertain me." Max states dramatically.

"Oh lovely, I guess so. At least I'll be getting out of school." Nudge shrugs.

"Think again, Nudge, I'm hiring a private tutor for the both of you and having your work delivered here every day." I say with a smirk which causes Nudge to swear under her breath. Then we all went back to watching the movie as Ari and the rather hung over Iggy join us.

The next morning we were all up early and getting ready for school. The first part of my morning was spent holding Max's hair out of the way as she threw up into the porcelain toilet bowl. Then we rushed to get into the limo and to school where we were met with the problem of the Winders and Howlers waiting for us at the gates. Sighing, I asked the driver to stop (rather than run them all over) and got out of the car.

"Fang, we want to know what's going on with Max! She hasn't talked to any of us in a month!" Laurel pouted with her arms crossed tightly.

"Yeah man, and what's going on with you too? You haven't been around at all this month." Dixie complained.

"Don't you guys know what happened a month ago?" Zach suddenly asks from the back of the group. Everyone turns to look at him with curiosity, I shoot a threatening look at him, and if looks could materialize into anything, Zach would have a knife being held at his little friend down stairs.

"Fang, what happened? What's Zach talking about?" J.J. asks, looking at me and then at the limo behind me with a bit of worry beginning to cloud her eyes. I hesitate.

"Fang, why don't you just tell them? Huh? What harm could it do?" Zach taunts as I continue to hesitate.

"Zach, just shut the hell up." Max says suddenly as she hauls herself out of the limo behind me, catching us all off guard. Everyone looks at her shocked.

"Max!" Laurel squeals before launching her pixie-like body at Max with a full blown bear hug that causes them to spin around in a circle a few times.

"Haha I missed you too, Laur, but you'll have to stop squeezing us so tightly." After Max says this, Laurel stops dead in her tracks.

"Max, did you just say 'us'?" Dylan asks nervously. Max looks down at her belly as Laurel releases her and cups the tiny bump.

"Yeah, I did, Dyl."

**Ahhhh so I finally updated! Hope you like it and don't hate me forever for taking so long! Review and keep reading!**

**-JAMZD  
><strong>


	17. Chapter 17: Max gets told off

**Arranged**

**Hey people, sorry I've been on hiatus yet again. Anyways, going back and reading my reviews and then my own chapters, I realized that in the previous chapter I wrote "3 weeks" rather then what I meant as to be "3 months" pregnant and then Max worrying about once she hit 5/6 months. Okay and so just basically, chapter 16 was sloppily written. Extremely sorry! Anyways, here's the new chapter, and again, really REALLY sorry.**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Maximum Ride or any of its characters.**

**CLAIMER: I do own the plot and self made characters.**

The members of Scarlet Wind and Midnight Howl stared from me, to Fang, to my belly, and repeated this for about 2 minutes, all in a creepy unison. After blinking a few times, Dixie cleared her throat.

"You're…pregnant?" Dixie asked nervously.

"Yes, 14 weeks tomorrow." I say calmly.

"Bloody Christ," J.J. screams with a clearly exasperated voice. "First you stop hanging out and coming to gang events, then you get so friggin' close to that _ Carter _that you actually accept your arranged marriage, and now you're telling us, your best friends who you have openly insulted the Carter family to, that you are pregnant with _his _baby after only getting along for _2 weeks_!"

"J.J…." Dylan begins, trying to stop her.

"No, Dylan, not this time." J.J. snaps at Dylan before turning back to face me and Fang, who had moved to my side once J.J. had started yelling. "The only reason you guys got close is because he found out about all your problems and felt bad for you! And now you're like some completely different person! You are not Maximum Ride! You are not the leader for Scarlet Wind!" When J.J. finishes yelling, she is breathing heavily and her eyes are glassy with unshed tears. Before I can say anything to her, she spins around and storms off, probably towards where everyone had parked their bikes.

"Max, you'll have to forgive her, she is just frustrated…we all are." Suzan says quietly, giving me a sympathetic look. I lift my hand up to wipe my face with the palms of my hands, since I had in fact started bawling as J.J. was yelling at me.

"No," I cleared my throat, "J.J. is right, I haven't been there for you guys. I was just so swept in the idea of being, well, free. I know it doesn't make that much sense, but for my entire life, I've sort of been like a bird in a cage, free to fly around the given space, but never to be let out. And now, since I'm with Fang willingly and happily, it's like the latch on my cage has been released and now, I can truly fly. So don't be angry at J.J., she's right." I finish with a small smile and Fang wraps his arm around my shoulder, the Winders and Howlers all nod solemnly.

"Hey, howlers, ditto. I know I haven't been around much, but I'm still Fang." The howlers all start laughing at Fang's completely insensitive comment. After that, the two gangs left in peace and Fang, Iggy, Ari, Nudge, and I continued on to our classes at Willow Lark. For the rest of the day I couldn't help worrying about J.J. though.

…

"Hey, Max, you and Fan—erm, Mr. Carter, want to join us for lunch?" Beth, a girl from my homeroom, asks cheerily as she motions to a few other people from my homeroom.

"Ah sure, that sounds fun. Would you mind if I invited a few more people over?" I ask, keeping Iggy, Nudge, and Ari in mind.

"Oh not at all, we'll be eating under the giant willow tree in the courtyard." Beth says before leaving to rejoin her group of friends. I smile and turn to head towards my next class.

…

"Oh, there they are!" Nudge points excitedly towards Beth who is waving her arm quickly across the courtyard. Giggling at Nudge's excited reaction to being invited to lunch I make it over to the willow tree with her, Ari, Iggy, and Fang following suit. Once we get there we're all given a warm welcome and invited to sit on the numerous blankets they've laid down. Fang and I end up sitting together, between Derek and Lucy.

"So uh, Fa—erm, I mean Mr. Carter, how are you liking Willow Lark?" Lucy asks nervously.

"Haha, outside of class and away from the other teachers, just call me Fang, and I'm finding it quite amusing, thanks." Fang says with a grin as he glances down at me with a joyful glimmer in his eyes.

"Oh cool, so you know, Fang, just wondering, but how is Max in bed?" Derek asks jokingly, but apparently Fang takes this seriously.

"Eh, pretty good, I mean, we've only had sex once, but apparently it was amazing enough, considering Max is already pregnant." Fang says impassively, like its ordinary everyday news. I worriedly look around the group and I'm met with wide eyes stares, slack jaws, and stuttering voices.

"P…pregnant..?" Connie stammers.

"Err, yeah, sorry to break it to you, Connie." I say half apologetically, since I could easily tell that she had been interested in Fang.

"Congratulations!" Beth exclaims happily, obviously trying to hide the fact that she is completely fazed.

"Well, seems like they had a better reaction than the gangs had." Ari says with a shrug.

"YOU'RE ALL IN GANGS!" Lindsey bursts out in surprise.

"Ehh, yeah, sort of..." I say, a bit embarrassed.

"Hmm…pretty bad ass, I like it." Beth says with a joking wink. Everyone starts laughing and lunch continues on smoothly.

…

"Madame Ride, Scarlet Wind is here to see you." Once of the extra hired maids says in a monotone from the opening of the library door.

"Ah thank you, Georgia, please send them in."

"Right away, Madame, shall I summon Master Carter as well?"

"No, that isn't necessary." I say before going back to my book, knowing that the maid will send the Winders in quickly. Not long after, Laurel is bursting into the room, ahead of the others, and plopping down on the couch beside me and staring intently at my belly. Her expression though, begins to worry me. Once the others enter with grave looks, I become increasingly alarmed, especially since J.J. isn't among them.

**Alright, it's cliffy, I know. But whatever, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Keep reading and reviews are much appreciated! **

**-JAMZD  
><strong>


	18. Chapter 18: Search party away!

**Arranged**

**So I left off with a rather cliffy ending, but here's your next chapter…**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Maximum Ride or any of its characters.**

**CLAIMER: I do own the plot and self made characters.**

I knew something was up when one of the Monotone's summoned me to the library where Max had been talking to the Winders, and that sense of knowing was heightened as I approached the doors where an aura of worry and solemnity was practically rolling out from underneath the grand doors. Taking a moment to calm down, I walked into the library and found myself being stared at by the Winders and Max, who was sitting in her favourite bean bag couch with her knees tucked snugly under her chin. Aside from the downer of a feeling coming from everyone, everything looked fine, that is, until I looked closer and noticed that not only were Max's eye rimmed red, but J.J. was also missing from the Winders.

"What's going on? What happened?" I demanded harshly as I rushed to Max's side. For a few minutes, all was silent as Max buried her face in my shoulder, and then Dylan spoke up.

"J.J. is missing. She took off after yelling at Max and we haven't seen her since. We went to check out her loft where she's been rooming with Suzan, but all her stuff was gone and all we found was a note." Dylan says solemnly as he passes me a sheet of paper with jagged writing.

Dear Winders,

I've left, I mean, I just can't handle it anymore. That traitor that I yelled at today was not Max. She was like some kind of weird clone of Max. Our max, my Max, would not be caught dead with Fang Carter, let alone be carrying his baby. She, it, is not max. she is a traitor. I guess Zach was clairvoyant or something, seeing as he got out before this all happened. Don't look fro me.

-J.J.

"She…she hates me…" Max says, sniffling a bit and staring straight ahead. Max quickly buried her face in my shoulder again after saying this. Jared quietly spoke up.

"It may seem like that right now, Max, but it's just that this has all happened very quickly and well, for so many years now, we've been used to taking care of you, and suddenly, you're independent and don't need us as badly. J.J. has known you for forever and these new changes in you are making her feel like she's being left behind." Jared says solemnly. I curse under my breath as Max shudders under my arm, which I had wrapped around her, and I quickly whip out my phone. I quickly dial a number as the Winders look at me with puzzled looks.

"Hello?" Kyle says on the other end of the line.

"Get the Howlers together; we're having a search party. Make sure the bikes are all fuelled up and that everyone has the essentials on them, don't know how long this search is going to last." I quickly hang up before Kyle can say a word of protest.

"J.J. told us not to look for her." Laurel says with big eyes.

"Well she'll just have to get over herself, because here we come." I say firmly before getting up to get my own things and my bike ready. "I expect you all to join the search too." I say without turning around just as I'm about to exit the room.

About 15 minutes later, the Howlers, Winders, and I are all double checking everything, setting meeting spots, and trying to figure out where J.J. could or would have gone. Max on the other hand is upstairs in bed with Nudge, watching her favourite movie. I didn't want her riding on her bike or even on a bike period due to the fact of her being just about 14 weeks pregnant. So reluctantly, she had agreed to stay home with Nudge and Ari entertaining her.

"Is everyone ready to head out?" Dylan says, adjusting his driving gloves. Everyone nods with a determined expression and we all head out the door.

**Okay, it's short, but there you go! Review and keep reading!**

**-JAMZD  
><strong>


	19. Chapter 19: Rebellion and Tickle Fights

**Arranged**

**It's been awhile, but I've been working on another Maximum Ride fanfic lately that I'm hoping is better than any other I've written before. So, keep waiting and bare with me.**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Maximum Ride or any of its characters.**

**CLAIMER: I do own the plot and self made characters.**

"They've been gone for hours." I moaned.

"Max, stop whining and sniffling, they'll be back as soon as they can." Nudge commands, shoving a box of tissues.

"Bu—…"

"No buts about it." Nudge declares, cutting me off and steering me away from my beloved library and to the home theatre. When we get there she sets me in a middle seat and goes to pop a movie in. A few moments later she plops down next to me and the movie starts. I must've fallen asleep during the trailers since I later open my eyes to the sound of silence. I yawn and look around the home theatre to find that I yawn. I stretch, get up from my seat, and then pad out into the hallway where I see Nudge on one of the house phones with a worried face.

"No, that can't be what happened. She wouldn't have." Nudge hisses furiously into the phone. She is quiet for a few moments before swallowing and nodding. "Alright, I'll tell her." Then Nudge hangs up the phone and turns around. Her eyes go wide.

"Max! You're awake!"

"Yeah, I am, now what do you have to tell me?" I ask sharply. Nudge looks down for a moment and then looks at me with hard eyes.

"Fang sent Iggy to go check Zach's apartment back at the Carter family compound. All his stuff was gone. Iggy went to every place he could think of and eventually found him at an underground club. When Iggy found him, he stayed hidden and discovered that J.J. was meeting with Zach. From what Iggy gathered, it seems like they are planning to start a rebellion against both of your families. They already know who to contact, where to get their supplies…Iggy thinks they'll be practically unstoppable." After Nudge says all this I take a sharp breathe and then turn around in the direction of my room.

"Very well, we'll be waiting." I say and then pad down the marble hallway. It isn't until I reach my room that I burst out in sobs.

…

The next morning when I wake up again there are warm, strong, familiar arms around me. Fang's back. I cuddle in closer to him, wishing that it could smother J.J. and Zach's plans.

"Good morning, Max." Fang mumbles through my hair.

"It's not morning yet." I groan and turn around so that my face is to Fang's chest.

"Oh yes it is." Fang says, I can practically hear the smirk.

"Nuh uh."

"Uh huh."

"No."

"Yes."

"Rawr."

"Woof."

"Did you just bark?"

"Yes, I did. Is there a problem with that?" Fang asks me teasingly as he trails his hands around my waist, tickling me. I start to giggle, and then I'm full out laughing and Fang is leaning over me, tickling the hell out of my pregnant belly.

"S…stop," I gasp through laughs."You're going to give me a heart attack." I shriek. I can hear my heart pounding with excitement.

"Then do you admit that it is morning and that I'm a total sex god?" Fang asks with a joking grin.

"Y…yeah, I do, I do!" I shriek through my laughter. Fang chuckles, stops tickling me, and then collapses next to me.

"That was fun." Is all he says after a few moments of silence filled with only my laboured breathing from laughing so much. In that very moment, I forget about Zach and J.J., everything feels just…perfect. I wish this feeling could last forever. Unfortunately that moment is broken when Iggy barges into the room. He takes a good wide eyed look at the site of me and Fang on the bed, next to each other, just staring at the ceiling and now him.

"Jesus Christ, Fang, are you trying to get her double pregnant?" Iggy gasps.

"Iggy, I don't think that's even possible, and no, we were having a tickle fight." Fang says after chucking a pillow at him.

"Yeah, a pillow fight; sure, whatever you say." Iggy says, winking. "Anyways, I have your bags packed and Nudge booked the tickets."

"Ah, thanks man." Fang says, flicking his hair out of his face.

"What is Iggy talking about?" I ask Fang, slightly worried. Fang's face goes blank and he hesitates. Just as he's about to answer, Iggy speaks up.

"As a safety measure, your parents and in-laws are having you, Fang, Ari, Nudge, and me flown out to a distant island of an unknown location." Iggy says, going all professional on me. I sit there with a blank face for about 2 minutes.

"So, no school, no drama?" I ask hesitantly, trying to lighten the mood a bit.

"Basically," Iggy says with a grin before skipping (and yes, I mean skipping) out of the room. I turn to Fang.

"So when are we leaving?" I ask with a small smile, I'm happy to be getting away from this drama.

"Soon," is all Fang says before grinning and going back to tickling me.

**Okay, it's on the short side, and well, even though I haven't done anything today and it's only around 5:30pm, I'm tired! So, review and keep reading!**

**-JAMZD  
><strong>


	20. Chapter 20: To the Airport!

**Arranged**

**Here's the update. OMFG, anyone else hyped for August 6th? **

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Maximum Ride or any of its characters.**

**CLAIMER: I do own the plot and self made characters.**

Okay, so when I said "soon" to Max, I wasn't aware that Nudge had booked out tickets for the afternoon.

"Fang, hurry up or we'll miss the flight!" Nudge hollers as she races down the hall, wheeling and carrying four bags of her own. I scowl and continue shoving things in my bags.

"Dude, where the hell is my flat iron," Iggy ask-yells from down the hall to nobody in particular, "Fang, give it back! We all know your hair isn't possible that straight on its own!" Iggy continues screaming.

"Iggy, I don't have your fucking flat iron!" I growl-yell, getting extremely pissed and frustrated with all the rush to get out of the mansion and to the airport on time; as I finish my sentence Max gasps from across the room.

"Fang! You can't drop an F-Bomb like that! The baby will hear you!" Max whines with her hands hugging her swollen abdomen. Before I can say some smart-ass thing back, I bite my tongue and say sorry. Max sighs and says its okay before going back to packing. I wipe my brow and flick my hair out of the way as I close my last bag; then I turn to Max.

"Need any help?" I ask, started to haul and kick the bags into the hallway. Max stands up and flattens down her baby blue sundress. I look over here and notice she's wearing matching cork wedges and has her hair done back in some weird braid half-do thing.

"No, I'm finished. Call Ari though." She says as she straightens her back. I nod and press the intercom button to summon Ari. After a few minutes he enters the room with a luggage cart.

"Ari, where the hell did you get a luggage cart?" I ask suspiciously.

"Let's just say The Marriott down the street is missing some property." Ari says impassively as he loads both Max's and my own bags on to be wheeled down the hall.

"You stole a luggage cart from The Marriott?" Max shrieks with surprise.

"Don't give me that look, Maxine A. Ride, you've done way worse before…besides, I'll return it later." Ari scolds. Max frowns and sighs before striding out of the room, probably in search of Nudge. Once she's out I turn to Ari.

"What does the "A" stand for?" I ask with a bit of a smirk. Ari looks at me for a minute and then grins.

"You have to swear never to tell Max that I told you her middle name." Ari says as he lowers his voice. I nod. "Okay, Max's full name is Maxine Arius Ride." I nearly burst out laughing.

"What kind of name is 'Arius'?" I choke out.

"I don't know. What kind of name is Fang Herold Carter?" Ari says with a mischievous grin as he leaves the room with the luggage cart. My jaw goes slack. How does he know my full name? I shrug it off, grab my Raybans and head out the door.

…

During the drive to the airport we were all pretty silent. Max and Nudge were reading (Max a pregnancy book and Nudge a fashion magazine), Iggy was texting, Ari was staring out the window, and I was suddenly remembering that I hadn't called the school to alert them of my sudden leave.

"Yo, Ig, pass your cell for a minute." I said to Iggy.

"Why don't you use yours?" Iggy asks, obviously not wanting to give up his phone for a mere few minutes.

"It's dead, left it in a pair of jeans and the laundress didn't take it out before washing them." I say, remembering when I got my jeans back and my cell had fallen out of the pocket in a bajillion pieces. Iggy sighs and tosses over his cell. "Thanks bro." I say before dialling the academy's headmaster.

"Good day, this is Willow Lark Academy, how may I help you?" The secretary says politely once she picks up.

"Hello this is Fang H. Carter, calling to discuss urgent matters with the Headmaster." I say impassively.

"Ah, of course Mr. Carter," The secretary says with a bit of a flirtatious edge as she realizes it's me. I roll my eyes as she connects me threw, and then the Headmaster picks up.

"Fang? Where in the hell are you?" The Headmaster nearly shrieks into the phone.

"That's what I've called about. I'm very sorry but some pressing family matters have come up. I and four students of the academy are taking a sudden leave and are not sure of our return date. You know how things are in the Carter and Ride families." I say sharply into the phone.

"Oh yes, of course. Just who are the students?" The Headmaster asks nervously.

"Maxine Ride, Nudge Jones, Ari Batchelder, and Iggy Carter" I say before swiftly hanging up to prevent any possible protest from the Headmaster. I toss the phone back to Iggy just as the car pulls up in front of the airport. Without saying anything we quickly hustle out of the car and towards our terminal, the driver will have our luggage sent through.

**Okay, short, I know, but there you go! Review PLEASE and keep reading as well!**

**-JAMZD  
><strong>


	21. Chapter 21: Hours of Sleep

**Arranged**

**Oh geez guys, I'm sorry it's been so dang long. Been über busy with school and my family lately, but here's the new chapter! It's been long awaited, but here it is.**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Maximum Ride or any of its characters.**

**CLAIMER: I do own the plot and self made characters.**

You know, sometimes I really hate being part of the Ride family. I mean really, it's like my family doesn't know the meaning of "normal". Ah jeez. So anyways, here we are, on an average, everyday middleclass airplane, sitting in average seats. There are average, everyday people all around me and their doing average, everyday things. Somewhere on the plane a baby is whining and somewhere else, a couple quietly bickering. Fang has his hand over mine and he's silently snoring; Nudge is reading yet another fashion magazine; Iggy and rocking his head to the beat of some song he is listening to; Ari is tapping away at his laptop, probably planning some top secret mission, and me? Well, I'm just sitting here, my head resting on Fang's shoulder, looking, watching, observing.

"Don't worry, we'll be there soon, and then we'll be on the train, and then we'll ride on a private, family hired boat to the island." Fang says in a sleepy, hushed voice. I jolt and put my hand against my throbbing heart. Fang's eyes widen and he looks at me worriedly.

"Oh, I thought you were asleep. Damn, Fang, just give me a heart attack." I say as I playfully punch his arm. Fang fake hisses and over dramatically winces.

"Ah, I'm so hurt. Oh my love, my dearest Max, I feel as though I may be dying. You have delivered the final blow. Ah."Fang fake hisses again and I start laughing at his corniness. Fang fake dies and I just about die from laughter. Nudge looks up at us from her magazine with a cocked eyebrow before shaking her head with a little smile playing at the corners of her mouth. Ari and Iggy are too busy with what they're doing to pay much or any attention whatsoever to our mushy couple stuff. Fang and I keep at our dramatic, corny act for awhile until just about everyone on the plane is asleep and an attendant has to ask us to be a little quieter. We eventually fall asleep.

…

"Come on, Preggie, time to get up, plane has landed." Nudge says as she shakes my shoulder. I groan and turn away from her shaking hand.

"I don't wanna get up." I mumble. Suddenly I feel myself being lifted up bridal-style and I nuzzle my face into the person's shoulder. I take a good whiff and find that it's Ari carrying me. "Hi there, Ari, thank you so much for being a great friend," I slur, drunk off sleep and good dreams. Ari carries me all the way to the awaiting car as Iggy and Fang load the luggage into the back. Nudge is opening the door for me and helping Ari get me all buckled up. I fall back into a lucid sleep as we make our way towards the train. When I next wake up, the air has a different feel to it, there is sun beaming warmly on my skin, and the breeze wafting in from the window is sweet and welcoming. The bed I'm lying in is warm and comfy, and the sheets are soft and light. I smile and stretch, we're finally on the island. I slept for most of our trip, but we're finally here.

"Good morning, Sleeping Beauty." Fang whispers in my ear as he wraps his arms around me. I smile and close my eyes.

"How long was I out?"

"Give or take, about a day." Fang says, nuzzling his face into my hair. Fang slide down on the bed and rests his head on my rather inexistent belly. He sighs happily and tips his head up to look at me. "How many more months left?" I think about it before answering.

"Hmm…about 5 or 6," I say sleepily.

"What're we going to name it?"

"Fang, it's not an it, it's a baby."

"Fine, what're we going to name the baby?"

"Something that screams badass," I mumble. Fang is quiet for a few moments before speaking again.

"Sky; girl or boy, they're going to be named Sky." Fang says dreamily. I nod and drift off again into sleep. When I next wake up Fang is gone and there's a try of food on the night table. I stare at it blankly and wonder why I'm not hungry. I sigh and get out of bed. Then I begin to wander around the house, looking for everyone. Strangely enough, everything seems sort of hazy and I feel light as air. I eventually find myself in what seems to be an indoor sunroom with a skylight roof. I notice someone sitting in one of the wooden chairs so I walk over to see who it is. I already know that they aren't Ari, Nudge, Iggy, or Fang. They're simply too short. Their hair is mousy brown and wavy.

"Hello…who are you?" The person doesn't turn to face me when I ask this.

"Penelope Sky," the girl says. The name sounds familiar, very familiar.

"Well what are you doing here, Penelope?"

"My name is Penelope _Sky," _the girl growls before continuing. "And I'm here to warn you."

"Warn me of what?" I asked.

"You may be safe on the island, but your family will never be truly safe. You'll always be running, always." Penelope Sky says.

"Okay then…" I say warily. Just as Penelope turns to face me I suddenly feel heavier and heavier…then I can see her face and oh how familiar she looks. Then I wake up.

**So there it is! Sort of short, but that's okay. Read and review!**

**-JAMZD  
><strong>


	22. Chapter 22: So Much, So Small

**Arranged**

**I have absolutely comment about this chapter. I have a feeling that some of you are going to hate on me while others are going to rejoice. Well, here goes nothing.**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Maximum Ride or any of its characters.**

**CLAIMER: I do own the plot and self made characters.**

Since we got to the island, all Max has really done is sleep, and eat, and sleep some more. I'm worried about her, we all are. She walks around the house humming to herself and muttering things about someone named "Penelope".

"Maybe we need to get some of the Winders out here. She might be going stir crazy." Nudge suggested in defeat one morning.

"Impossible," I start as I continue preparing Max's breakfast tray. "She goes out and sits in the canopy hammock every day for at least an hour."

"Well maybe she's going nuts from being around just us?" Nudge suggests again.

"Maybe she needs an intervention...or she's too sex deprived!" The everlastingly perverted Iggy declares as he drags himself into the kitchen.

"Or maybe she wants to be back at home?" Ari says as he follows Iggy into the kitchen, slapping him upside the head as he sits down as the island with Nudge.

"Good morning, everyone." Max says calmly as she scares the shit out of all of us by walking in to the kitchen like a ghost. I frown in mock disappointment.

"I thought being a ghost was my thing, babe." Max barely smiles are my remark and instead takes a seat at the table, alone. I shrug it off and go back to trying to figure out the damn coffee maker. I hit the stupid machine in defeat and go to sit with my lovely. She merely acknowledges me with a flick of her eyes as I sit down across from her.

"I want...fried chicken." She declares. I sigh and get up from the table, knowing better than to stand between a woman and what she wants. I begin making the fried chicken like any good doting boyfriend would as Nudge, Ari, and Iggy watch me in shock.

"Dude, who are you and what have you done with Mc. Badass?" Iggy whispers, mouth agape.

"I'm the result of Mc. Badass having a girlfriend with a screwed up past, a bun in the oven, and a sudden lack of emotion." I whisper back as I continue making the fried chicken. When I'm done, I bring it to Max on a simple plate and set it down in front of her before resuming me seat across from her. She stares blankly at the plate for what seems like half an eternity before timidly picking at it. She only takes a small bite before she is suddenly flying for the bathroom and barfing her guts out. I was surprised at how much came out considering how little she had been eating since our arrival. I kneel down beside her, clearly worried, and massage her back methodically until she is done with her dry heaving. As I pick Max up off the ground and make my way for the bedroom I nod to Nudge who already has cleaning supplies on the bathroom counter.

"I'm sorry for making a mess." Max mutters as I gingerly lay her down and pull the blankets over her suddenly frail body. I sit on the edge of the bed and sigh again. I seem to be doing that a lot.

"Max, you need to tell us what's going on. This isn't you." Max processes what I've said and replies after awhile.

"I'm worried, Fang, and stressed."

"About what?"

"About everything...about the baby, about J.J. and Zach, about everyone."

"But why?" I ask. Max only turns on her side, away from me. I leave the room and close the door slowly, only glancing at the frail, pregnant girl I was slowly losing.

That night, I decide to give Max her space and instead sleep on the couch—how cliché. So there I was, sleeping all peacefully, until I hear the wrenching sobs coming from the bedroom. I rush over there and find Max sprawled on the ground in a heap in a pool of...blood?

"W...why...why is there so much...b...blood?" Max sobs and cradles a tiny, lifeless lump. I turn on the light and find she is cradling a stillborn fetus, not even developed enough to be called a baby. I stare in shock at the scene in front of me. It made sense now. Her body was anticipating the sudden shock, it was causing her to sleep more, have less of an appetite, spiral into a private world of darkness. Her body was preparing her to lose the baby.

I shakily make my way over to Max, who has tears pouring down her face as she makes a haunting retching noise and cradles the fetus. I wrap my arms around her and we cry together, the smell of coppery blood filling our noses and the feeling of grief enveloping us. Eventually, Nudge, Ari, and Iggy find us. Iggy loses his dinner over the scene and Nudge goes into a state of shock as well. It's only Ari that has the sense to call a private doctor to the island to perform a D&C on Max to ensure her physical recovery.

About a week and a half after that night, I find myself in the kitchen again, doing exactly what I had done last time and having a very similar conversation with Nudge, Ari, and Iggy. Except this time there are now perverted comments, no slaps upside the head, and no Max wandering in.

**Alright, there you go, go ahead and hate on me, but I didn't want this to follow a similar direction as my other fics. It's short, but I wasn't sure how to continue such a sad arc from the P.O.V. of Fang. You know the drill...review and keep reading.**

**-JAMZD  
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	23. Chapter 23: Captured and Released

**Arranged**

**Sorry last chapter was short and sad...but here's the next one, a look into Max's personal hell.**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Maximum Ride or any of its characters.**

**CLAIMER: I do own the plot and self made characters.**

All I smell blood, lot's and lot's of blood. It chokes me from the inside and holds my voice hostage. I see the way that the others have been looking at me, and I try to scream out to them that I'm still here...but I can't. It's been 3 weeks, and everything runs the same as usual. I wake up in a cold sweat after another dream about Penelope Sky, trudge into the kitchen and pretend not to notice their concerned glances, and then I go back to the bedroom. I don't have much else to do.

My time spent sitting in the bedroom alone, staring up at the blank ceiling, is good for thinking, really good. I think about how I used to be, before I got bad, how I was after I got really bad, and how I was when I got kind of better. It's actually quite interesting after awhile. My thoughts always flash back to Penelope Sky though.

"Do you want to eat dinner?" Fang asks quietly as he walks into the darkened room. I'm sitting on the bed with my knees tucked up to my chest. I shake my head slowly, the smell of blood is still too strong. Fang sets the tray by the bed anyways and walks out, shutting the door silently behind him. I stare blankly at the food and try to think of something other than Penelope Sky, or the blinding smell of blood. But I can't. Tears begin to silently slide down my face, and that's when I notice Fang watching my from the door. I guess he had silently crept in.

"..."

"What's happened to the Max I love? Is she still in there." Fang asks stoically, though I can feel the hurt in his voice. I want to scream out and say yes, but instead I still sit there, staring at him now. He stares right back. Then he comes over to me and scoops me out of the bed. I lean against his chest and try not to wonder too much of where he's taking me. I can hear doors opening and closing as he carries my through the house, and then I can feel the warm sun on my skin. I wish I could smell the tropical air, but all I smell is the choking blood.

"I'm sorry about this." Fang whispers as he launches the both of us into the deep end of the pool. My eyes fly open as we hit the surface of the water and I'm instantly soaked. Salty water burns my eyes and fills my nose as I try to claw to the surface, but Fang just holds me there, staring at me with his burningly dark eyes. I stop struggling and just stare back at him with pleading eyes as I count the seconds we're under water. One...two...three...four...five...as I count, the smell of blood fades away, and then I hear a voice inside my head.

"It's okay to let me go, Mommy, I knew you weren't ready for me yet... I'll see you in a few years." And suddenly I feel released, I don't feel like I'm being held hostage anymore, and the smell of blood no longer chokes me.

Then, Fang pushes up off the bottom of the pool and we slowly rise to the surface, still locked in a strange, pleading gaze. My eyes burn, but I still don't close them, even as the warm sun hits my wet skin and hair. I'm glad that we were coming up from the water since it hid my tears. Maybe it was hiding Fang's too.

"It's okay." I whisper hoarsely, and that's all I have to say to let Fang know I'm still here.

**Ohlala, twist ending. Mhmm. Bet none of you expected this to be the last chapter, but HA! Lol sorry, that sounds mean. But what did you think? Oh so different from my usual endings? Eh, I'm not sure...anyways, review, and check out my other fics, including the line of Peter Pan ones I'm planning to start by New Years.**

**-JAMZD  
><strong>


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